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Chateau Trotanoy..... Chateau Cantemerle.....

4-Aug-2000

This Friday we were invited over to our good friends Oded and Nitza Lerer. As Oded is much more a Bordeaux man than I am, I happily agreed to his suggestion that we taste two relatively un-hyped Bordeaux wine that I've never had before.
Nitza's flavorful cooking was delicious as always and we all enjoyed ourselves dinning in their outdoor shed with the nice summer breeze and the jasmine scent that filled the air. As always - a wonderful, tasty and pleasurable evening.

Roquefort stuffed mushrooms, smoked-eggplant salad, toasted red-peppers
1989 Chateau Trotanoy
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Roasted mullard (a hybrid between a duck and a goose) with sweet potatoes and red cabbage
1982 Chateau Cantemerle
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Orange parfait and fried mango in home-made jam


Chateau Trotanoy 1989 Pomerol

This famous chateau is - like most Pomerol wines - mostly made of Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varietals constitute about 20%. As I understand it, thirty or forty years ago, it used to be considered of a first-growth quality. Later years new planting gave way to lighter wines.
COLOR: Deep ruby red with slight softening towards the rim.
NOSE: Very nice red forest-fruit. Not particularly complex but very forward and pleasing.
TASTE: Pretty disappointing after the nice nose. Hints of fruit, alcohol and somewhat harsh tannins are all one finds here. Neither good flavors nor any depth or complexity. It is not the lack of concentration that bothers! A wine can be soft and delicate and still be an excellent wine. But the watery-dry lack of winyness is what makes this an ungainly wine.
LENGTH: Short and bitter aftertaste that leaves the palate with unpleasant dryness.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium-full body (i.e perceived high amount of alcohol). Not lacking in fruit, but disturbingly 'thin'. Pretty unbalanced at present but perhaps will improve in the future (not that I really believe that...).
OVERALL: A reasonable wine for sure. But I was expecting a lot more here.
MARK: 15.5/20.BUY MORE? No.

P.S. Just before posting this tasting note I have discovered to my embarrassment that I have tasted this wine about a year ago but forgot all about it. The marks I gave it then were considerably higher (i.e 17/20), though if you compare the wordings of my first tasting note you will notice the similarity of my findings. Perhaps I was in a more forgiving mood when I first tasted it, or perhaps it demonstrates the futility of comparing wine 'scores' when they were not marked side by side, or perhaps it shows the futility of marking wines at all...


Chateau Cantemerle 1982 Haut Medoc

This Haut-Medoc Fifth-growth chateau is made from equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with some Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to boost.
COLOR: Medium ruby color with some paling around the rim.
NOSE: Beautiful complex mature and forward. Sweetish (though not overly so) fruit, some spices, and a light flowery scent. Not really sprouting out of the glass but an interesting, multi-dimensional and very attractive nose.
TASTE: Smooth mellow and extremely pleasant to drink. Not a 'big' wine by any means, but full of fine delicate and complex flavors. Fully mature and totally harmonized, this wine is easy to drink yet is very far from a 'simpleton'
LENGTH: Medium length aftertaste that leaves a totally satisfying impression on the palate.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: A light-bodied, not immensely concentrated wine that is nevertheless relatively complex and flavorful. A harmonious silky texture makes this well balanced and smooth wine a pleasure to drink. At its absolute peak right now.
OVERALL: A fine wine, especially if one considers the relatively low pedigree of this chateau.
MARK: 17.5/20.BUY MORE? Yes.


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Jacob "Yak" Shaya.