Today we introduce a new series: “BKWine Tastes”. It is a collection of wines we have tasted recently. It is often samples that producers have sent us to show us what they do, or other bottles that we have come across at tastings or on our tasting table in the office.
This month it is three different Bordeaux wines and one Burgundy. The first Bordeaux is Ceres, an experimental wine from one of the well-known producers, Claire Villars (of Château Haut Bages Libéral). The second is Château Branas Grand Poujeaux, a fairly new project following an acquisition. The third is a rebranded and rejuvenated second wine of the famous Saint Emilion chateau Franc Mayne. And to finish we contrast that with a burgundy from a very talented producer, Frédéric Magnien.
Ceres 2020, Haut-Médoc, Claire Villars-Lurton
This is the first vintage of CERES made by the same team that makes Château Haut Bages Libéral, a grand cru classe in Pauillac. CERES comes from a plot of eight hectares cultivated with a method called agroecology and agroforestry. Haut Bages Liberal has been experimenting for some time with alternative, more sustainable practices for managing the vineyard. Claire Villars-Lurton, the owner, described it as organic and then one step further. This means, i.a., that you plant trees – carefully selected varieties – in the vineyard and that you have a cover crop. The trees and cover crops promote and regenerate the microbiological life in the soil and, not least, bind carbon dioxide.
Ceres is the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility. Artist and landscape designer François Houtin has created the label that depicts a vine winding upwards with the tree as support.
The wine is intensely fruity and floral. It has some tannins but is relatively soft with a clean, delicate fruit without any oak ageing and good freshness. It is very drinkable now. The grape is 100% merlot on clay/limestone soil. The wine is aged for six months in untreated concrete tanks before bottling. The wine is organic and without added sulphur. A different bordeaux of a kind we wouldn’t mind seeing more of. (25 euros)
Château Branas Grand Poujeaux 2018, Moulis en Médoc
Château Brana’s Grand Poujeaux is located in the appellation Moulis en Médoc, between two more famous neighbours, Château Poujeaux and Château Chasse-Spleen. Justin Onclin, then CEO of Château Prieuré Lichine, a classified growth in Margaux, became the new owner of Brana’s Grand Poujeaux in 2012. He has given the chateau an injection through investments and renovations. The vineyard surface is 25 hectares. The chateau now has two more co-owners; one of them is Arjen Pen, also the director. Moulis-en-Médoc is an excellent appellation just west of Margaux. It is not as prestigious as the neighbour and, therefore, an excellent place to look for affordable bordeaux wines.
Château Branas Grand Poujeaux 2018 is an enjoyable wine with a juicy and easy-drinking character, relatively soft but with structure. This is a new style of Bordeaux that can surely attract a new clientele. The aromas include blackberries and some chocolate. You can drink it now to enjoy the fresh fruit. The grapes are 50% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon, 5% petit verdot, and the ageing is in oak barrels, of which 70% are new. (~ 35 euros)
Ilex de Franc Mayne 2018, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Château Franc Mayne’s second wine has changed its name and label. Previously, it was the chateau’s magnificent Lebanese cedar that adorned the label of the second wine (then called Le Cèdre de Franc Mayne). Now, the majestic oak that stands on top of the entrance to the limestone quarry has the honour.
Château Franc Mayne is a grand cru classé located on Saint Emilion’s famous limestone plateau, just one kilometre from the village of Saint Emilion. You can take the road across the vineyards to get there. The location is superb. From the small chateau, you have a glorious view of all the seven hectares of vines, mostly merlot. The Saint Emilion chateaux on the limestone plateau sometimes have very old limestone quarries, and Franc Mayne has a gigantic one. It is quite an adventure to visit, actually. They use part of it as a wine cellar. The conditions are ideal; cool, dark and humid.
Ilex de Franc Mayne 2018 is a 100% merlot that is already very enjoyable with fresh red berries, a slight tone of cedar, generous fruit and intensity in the aromas, good structure with some austerity but soft tannins. Delicious. The wine is aged 12 months in one-year-old oak barrels in the underground limestone quarry. Château Franc Mayne’s wines are generally very drinkable more or less immediately, but they also age beautifully. (~ 20 euros)
Morey Saint Denis “Monts Luisants” 2017, Domaine Michel Magnien
Domaine Michel Magnien & Frédéric Magnien is run by Frédéric Magnien who is the fifth generation of winegrowers in the Magnien family. The wines come from superb locations in the Côte de Nuits. Since 2015, Frédéric keep his wines partly in beautiful, handmade jars of terracotta. These are, he says, aromatically neutral, and the terroir and the fruit are more prominent in the wines. He combines terracotta ageing with traditional ageing in oak barrels. Frédéric has been running the estate biodynamically since 2010.
Morey Saint Denis ”Monts Luisants” 2017 is a magnificent burgundy, quite powerful, with tannin and structure, but also smooth and elegant with red berries, some exotic spices and a typical pinot noir character. A wine for the burgundy lover. (~ 50 euros)
