2001 Ch. Pape Clement, Pessac-Leognan
“She’s so good looking that she looked like a man.” The reason that I’d associate this wine with the catchy song is that I find the wine to have both good feminine and masculine sides to it. Plus, the song played, as it was in my iTunes shuffle, while we were having dinner and, quite simply, I like both – the song and the wine.
Setting aside how one thinks of this chateau lately, whether you’re a Bordeaux classicist or prefers the international-style, this wine was built to impress. Popped and poured, the color was very fresh and dark, with lots of violet and very dense. That nose changed over time – started with international-style oak-dominant and vanilla, then shifted into notes of cigar box, wet leaves, leather and everything else that I’ve come to associate good Graves wine with. Soft tannin, high acidity, restrained with its layers of ripe black and blue berries. Deliciously long and tasty finish. Continued to improve with the duration of our dinner, which by the way, featured some awesome oven-broiled Korean-style full-cut beef short-ribs. I’ve come to like most of my Bordeaux with relatively more age in them, but this bottle’s in a very fine drinking mode tonight. A-
Less-contemplative but not lacking in the enjoyment factor, was our Rose starter.
2009 Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Rose, Loire Valley
Some herbal notes amidst the mostly refreshing juicy fruit on the nose. Watermelon, cranberries, strawberries, wrapped within a nice level of grapefruit acidity. Crisp, yet has that soft mouth-feel, and a touch of complexity enough to keep me interested. Hint of minerals and good hard candy flavor. A few bottles of these in an ice-filled bucket and your warm-weather beach, garden, or pool party kicks-up a notch higher. Cabernet Franc-based Rose with a non-intrusive and “who-cares” 12.5% alcohol-by-volume content. A most definite plus with the $12 price tag (discounted - NYC merchant). B+