2004 Ch. Tournefeulle, Lalande de Pomerol

[AlexR]

I have a soft spot for Lalande de Pomerol. I am a member of their brotherhood (Les Baillis) and go there at least once or twice a year.

When I first arrived in Bordeaux, the wine firm I worked for sold LdP at the same price as Bordeaux Supérieur. How times have changed!

Received wisdom is the the wines of Lalande are but a weak reflection of what their famous neighbor produces, although they can provide good value for money.

I think that's mostly true, but there has been considerable progress in the past decade.

There are different categories of wines in the appellation. Some are not barrel aged and a bit ho-hum.
But others are far more serious. Fortunately, there are more and more of the latter.

My wife had made a rabbit and red wine stew, so I popped the cork on the 04 Tournefeuille I had bought during a "Portes Ouvertes" operation a couple of years ago.
This estate overlooks the Barbanne, and Pétrus is just the other side.

I was very pleasantly surprised.

Color: very deep core, good and vigorous

Nose: Discreet oak, raspberries, mushrooms, caramel, candied red fruit, very pure.

Palate: Smooth, lovely, silky, rich texture (with an almost "furry" quality) and a surprising weightiness (13.5° alc.). Lively, tangy, deep berry fruit and black cherry flavors with plenty of class and a long aftertaste. Touch of hotness on the tail end.
It would be interesting to pit this against any Pomerol at double the price.
Certainly, if tasted blind, I would have plumped for a more prestigious appellation.

What it goes to show is that when you find a wine like this, you should buy a case of it - which I unfortunately did not.
*However*, I *did* buy a case of Ch. Belles Graves, also in Lalande de Pomerol, a wine on an equal footing with the Tournefeuille.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Chasse-Spleen]

Alex,
Nice note. I agree with you on the 'buy a case of this kind of wine when you find it' theory. Unfortunately you have to move fast or someone will grab it out from under you in the blink of an eye!

I was wondering on another subject, do you know the Chateau, Moulin de Tricot? Do you have any opinion on their wines? I know it's kind of half in the Haut-medoc, and half in Margaux, if I'm not mistaken. I've never tried it but have always been interested. Not a lot of info around and the wines are not inexpensive. I think they make two cuvees, one is called Margaux and the other, Haut-medoc.

Thanks!

-Chris

[AlexR]

Hi Chris,

Féret tells us that it's a tiny estate. I'm surprised it found its way to the US!

It's in the commune of Arsac, and 1.3 hectares are entitled to the Margaux appellation, and 1.5 to the Haut Médoc appellation.
75% C.S., 25% Merlot.

I've never seen this wine.

All the best,
Alex

[Chasse-Spleen]

Thanks, Alex! That's really interesting. I've seen both of the wines at Astor in NYC. They must have some kind of exclusive or semi-exclusive deal with them. How much wine could they make? It seems like it would be fun to try it just for the rarity factor. Parker doesn't even mention it in his Bordeaux books. Yet, it's entitled to a Margaux appellation for some of its wine. You did a great job of ferreting out the info.

BTW, what do you think of Chateau Plince?

-Chris

[AlexR]

Plince is a medium-range Pomerol with a decent QP ratio.

Here, I would expect to pay something like 25-30 euros for a recent vintage.

Alex R.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks Alex for your comments on those ''type'' of Bordeaux. I'm looking for good wine at lower price at the moment, and the less known AOC of Bordeaux is what I'm mainly looking for.

In 2004, when I was in Bordeaux, it was really fun to visit the Cru Classés with you.

Next time I,ll be in Bordeaux, I would like to visit those ''little chateaux'' with you, as they are probably really interesting being less commercial and more genuine to the ''normal people''.

Nic

[Chasse-Spleen]

Thanks, Alex. I've had Ch. Plince before, but I wanted your opinion, just out of interest. RP doesn't rate this chateau in his WA Bordeaux reviews. I had the '97 once courtesy of our friend Oswaldo, and it was very good. I also had the 2000, which showed great potential but was way too young at the time. I'm going to try the '04 soon, as they have it at one of my locals, for around $27. Not a bad price.