Notes from today's lunch at Alliance Francais. The lineup was wines from the Yvon-Mau group. Most of the wines were undistinguised, lacking fruit, and a bit short but one white stood out:
Chateau Ducla Experience XIII 2005 - A Bordeaux Blanc with the rather uncommon combination of 52% Sauvignon Gris (I didn't even know there was such a grape) and 48% Sauvignon Blanc. Well judged use of oak gives the wine good body. There is also good ripe fruit. Honey on the nose. Well integrated and seamless. There is a hint of sweetness from the ripeness of the fruit but that just adds to this wine's charm and complexity. Has real character. Easy to drink but great with food, too. Very enjoyable.
Since the reds were such an undistinguised lot, we had to go to the USA for something interesting and so ended up with this Sonoma red:
Ferrari-Carano Tresor 1999 - A Bordeaux blend. Good, berry nose. Still quite dark despite the age. Soft, medium bodied, sweet fruit but not over the top. Slightly oaky but not too distracting. A very good red which is ready to drink. A vast improvement over the French reds which we tried.
I have another wine dinner tonight featuring '90 Lynch Bages and some other goodies. Tough job but someone's got to do it. Notes to follow.