An old friend asked me to recommend a Claret for dinner parties when the guest list for his lunches and dinners would include friends able to appreciate being served an exceptional wine.
Rather than just send through a list, I suggested that he and his wife should pop over for supper and we could conduct a blind tasting to find a suitable brew. The invitation was quickly accepted, and I pulled together five wines within the £50-£100 bracket - part of my friend’s brief. I added my own caveat: the wines selected would be available by the bottle should any readers of my missives wish to explore them further.
The list of five wines that I selected are listed below. Also, I included a wine that I have written about before - L’Aurage, Côtes de Castillon, 2020 from Corneys - that at £36.15 per bottle is exceptional value and a real crowd-pleaser.
The other five wines for the tasting:
1 - Château Langoa Barton, St Julien, 2012
2 - Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Léognan, 2007
3 - La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, 2018
4 - Clos La Madeleine, St-Émilion, 2018
5 - Château Beychevelle, St Julien, 2016
As expected, L’Aurage performed very well. The other wine that was tasting superbly was the Domaine de Chevalier 2007. However, the wine was on the cusp of its age limit, and perhaps for many wine lovers, it may have passed that peak. Therefore, my advice was that although we all liked it, it was just too risky to assume it would still be drinking well in another couple of years.
Even with our liking for the two above, one wine was miles ahead of all six wines being tasted: Clos La Madeleine 2018.
This wine has a rather interesting history. This vintage may be one of the last that will ever be seen from this property. With that possibility, I acquired the 2020 vintage so that I could taste them alongside each other. See notes below.
The vineyard sits within the Magdelaine sector of Saint-Émilion, where grapes have been growing since the 6th century. There are 2.3 hectares on a south-facing plateau with 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc planted.
In September 2017 the estate was acquired by Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix and, starting with the 2022 vintage, will be incorporated into Château Bélair-Monange. This superb property is managed by Edouard Moueix, it is also his home, who has stated that he wants to lift Bélair-Monange to have the same recognised status as his cousin’s Château Pétrus in Pomerol. Tasting the 2020 Bélair last week at Vintners convinced me that objective would be achieved fairly quickly.
Back to the dinner party wine. The 2018 vintage was excellent, verging on legendary.
Now you could argue that given the structure of 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc, then it would be ahead of the other wines in this blind tasting, and that is a fair point. However, this wine was just on another level in terms of quality and even though the others will be enhanced over time, this will still be the preferred option as the quality was simply outstanding.
Clos La Madeleine, St-Émilion, 2018
£78.30 - Corneys
Rich and concentrated fruit on the nose with hints of vanilla. The palate has very fine tannins balanced with good acidity well integrated with red and black fruits - blackcurrants and dark plums - coming together to form a very silky, long finish. Layers of flavours abound as it opens up in the glass and it begins to show its potential. Currently, needs to be decanted an hour or so before it is served. Will last well into the early 30s.
Tasting alongside it, I had lined up the 2020: available from Private Cellars - £63.00
Much tighter, and very broody on the nose. However, the potential from this exceptional vintage is very clear: the intense fruit is richer and more concentrated but it needs time. You will be rewarded by keeping this exceptional wine for another 5 years, and it will comfortably cruise into the late 30s becoming increasingly enhanced.
If you want to impress wine-loving guests at a future lunch or dinner then buy both of these wines as they are exceptional. You could also add the Bélair-Monange 2020 to your cellar that will last into the early 40s. Tasting this wine last week it falls into the outstanding category. Cases of 6 available from Justerinis - £739.22.