TN: 2004 Charmail

[Rudi Finkler]

This exceptionally well-made, old school styled Cru Bourgeois from Haut-Médoc impressively demonstrates how outdated the 1885 Classification actually is. Easily the equivalent of a third classified growth, this delicious, multilayered wine offers a very elegant black and red berry profile with polished tannins and agreeable freshness. The long, spicy finish is really impressive. Not fully mature, but very approachable now because of its silky texture. Fantastic Bordeaux without breaking the bank.

[AKR]

I love Charmail too. I think it ends up a traditional tasting wine, but they do a lot of cutting edge viticulture/elevage/vinification there. I've not tried 2004 that I can recall but have drunk up a good slug of the lovely 2005.

Charmail is right by Sociando Mallet so they have the terroir to make dense wines.

[dstgolf]

I wouldn't complain too much. Yes they make good to very good wine like many other Cru Bourgeois that we like to find and keep under the radar. As soon as they get discovered by the masses you won't be able to afford them much longer so just enjoy and recognize that they are striking well above their pedigree. That's a good thing.

[Rudi Finkler]

Interesting that you mention the 2005, AKR. I had outstanding bottles of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2006, but just the 2005 was a mild disappointment. Simply too modern for me. 2001 is my favourite Charmail, similar in style to the wonderful Sociando-Mallet and even a little bit better, but for half of the price…

[AKR]

I doubt they did anything radically different with the production of the 2005.

It just happened to be a year with the right blend of degree days, and other climactic conditions.

In any case, Charmail (and St. Paul) are neighbors/competitors for the money that could be allocated to Sociando Mallet.

[AKR]

An ok bottle of the 2005 last night. Last glass was the best. A tremendously reliable estate, with enough fruit for even the Napa weaned.

[marcs]

The 2004 vintage has a really supple, silky texture to it. Like, it doesn't rise to "velvety" because the vintage isn't deep enough, but it's soft in a good way, the underlying complexities of the wine come through without being lean at all. I really like 2004s.

[Blanquito]

I’ve got a case of the 2005. Maybe I should get started on those.

[JimHow]

Never been a big fan of Charmail.

[dstgolf]

The 2005 St Paul has been a superb drink with only two bottles left. Not as deep as SM but also less than half the price. This one has been a very satisfying find striking well above its price point.

[JimHow]

I've never heard of St. Paul.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I bought the 09 and it is very enjoyable. Very 09.

[AKR]

St Paul, Charmail, and S-M are all right next to each other.

Personally I think they are all wines BWE should try, and the first two can be enjoyed while young.

Jeffrey Davies was involved with them, although Charmail has now been sold I think, and signed on with another bigger importer. Below is from Charmail's website - they have some differentiated aspects to their wine. Cold soak, petit verdot, biodynamicism etc.

===========

“You cannot have fine plants without loving them.
Nature gives nothing spontaneously.” Robert Arnaud d’Andilly,
who supervised work in the gardens of Port Royal Abbey.

Terroir
The concept of terroir includes three things:
soil, weather and Man

“The best possible terroirs are no different from the worst, if they are not cultivated.”
This motto coined by Vauban guides us in our work. At Charmail, we have some positive features, but without the hand of Man and his ambition to go beyond difficulty, the fact that we have good soils here is just a good card to have. We work hard to get the best out of every plot, while taking into account the diversity of our terroir.

The soil types here consist mainly of gravel and clay, gravel and sand and colluvial sediments. This variety is what gives Charmail wines their balance and distinctive qualities; subtle elegance from the stones; strength and body from the clay.

To enhance this terroir, we re-planted 6 new hectares (15 acres) in 2010, half with Cabernet Sauvignon and half with the Petit Verdot grape variety. The idea was to return to the original size of the vineyard and to modify the balance of different grape varieties in the blend. By increasing the quantity of Petit Verdot, we add some appealing spicy hints, which are rare in the Medoc. These combine with the main body of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to make a very distinctive final blend.

We are also doing everything to protect our precious terroir by progressing with initiatives to make our techniques more environmentally friendly. We plough the soil around the vines, earthing them up, then flattening and hoeing the soil making it easier for the vines to develop deep root systems that enable them to resist hydric stress better. We no longer use chemical fertilisers or herbicides and have planted 6 kilometres of hedging to enhance the ecosystems surrounding the vineyard.

Harvesting and Winemaking
“In such a beautiful place, how couldn’t you not make good wine?” is what Bernard d’Halluin thought a little naively when he visited the property for the first time.

And since then, he has done everything day after day with his team to develop an exceptional wine. Charmail is the wine made by a team led by Olivier Sèze. From the vine to the cellars, the harvesters to the cellar master via the sorting table, everyone has a special role in making this property what it is today.

We strive to protect our terroir, which is why we moved back to harvesting by hand. The vine plants are challenged much less and only the best bunches are picked. After the sorting table, the fruit is handled by gravity only, so that no pumps or screws damage the grapes as they are fed into the tanks.

In our winemaking, the Charmail philosophy is to produce BALANCED wines. The technique of cold skin contact, developed on the estate, serves to extract from the grape skins all the components that will ensure an optimal tannic structure in the wines. Ageing lasts 12 months in barrels made of French oak, only one third of which are renewed each year to avoid an overwhelming impact of new wood.

We do all we can to highlight the Fruit. The balance makes for elegant

[DavidG]

Terroir by (my) definition excludes the influence of man.

[Blanquito]

2005 was the last vintage I bought of Charmail.

[DavidG]

I’ve only had Charmail once, the 2000. I liked it, found it a bit smoky and oaky with decent fruit and balance, but it didn’t impress me enough to stand out. The 2015 is available locally for ~$29.

[Racer Chris]

I drank a couple bottles of the 2010.
The 2010 Ch. Senejac was much better imo, and a lot less $$.

[Blanquito]

The 2005 was $18 on release.

[AKR]

$30 feels high for this kind of wine on current releases, but I suppose everything costs too much nowadays.

Blanquito - I suggest pulling a bottle and trying it; it's at a good point.

[Racer Chris]

It's of the same quality level as Chateau Lanessan, and should be priced similarly.

[DavidG]

That’s a useful comparison Chris. Lanessan is more like $15-20.

[AKR]

They're both good, but to me, Charmail will be drinkable on release. I haven't had any with a lot of bottle age.

But Lanessan will keep well.

I should try a Senejac - I don't think I've had any and it seems to have a good reputation.

[Racer Chris]

Another good Cru Bourgeois to compare with Charmail is La Cardonne. The chateau is located on the southern edge of Blaignan in the northern Medoc,much closer to St Estephe than Senejac or Lanessan.
The 2010 is readily available for $21 in the US and is at least as good as the 2010 Charmail in my opinion. I've also enjoyed the 2009 but have no experience with prior vintages.

[AKR]

I've had two bum bottles of La Cardonne in 2009. oi vay

As long as we're digressing into good, cru bourgeoise esque wines, I will throw out a holla for Cambon La Pelouse. Although not in Margaux, it has some resemblance, and is so large production that its always low priced.

[marcs]

$30 feels high for this kind of wine on current releases, but I suppose everything costs too much nowadays.

$30 is a lot given that you can find really great, ageworthy wines in the $40-50 range if you look. 2012 and 2014 Leoville Barton were $50 on futures. That may have been in part exchange rate I guess, but there are a lot of great $40 Bordeaux out there to be backfilled now.

[Blanquito]

Tried a 2005 Charmail last night. It was good, still showing some primary grapey flavors, but the texture was open and the tannins fairly resolved. Early maturity for my tastes. It had very good depth, exceptional for an $18 bottle of wine actually, but it didn’t show any overripe or new oak influences that wines in this price range often do. It’s shortcomings are being a anodyne and semi-chunky. Still, I’d go 86-87 points on this today, it could go up a point or two if more nuance and interest develop in the cellar.

[BordeauxNut]

Huge fan of Charmail. The 2000 is one of my best ageworthy QPR buys. I think I'll pop one tonight. Thanks for the inspiration...

[Blanquito]

My favorite Charmail was the terrific 1996, followed closely by the 2000. Drank up these vintages a while ago. Let us know how the 2000 shows (purchased from WineX for $12-13, I recall).

[Blanquito]

I thawed the second half of my 2005 Charmail today after it spent the intervening time in the freezer, and I am enjoying it more after this “airing”. Still seems only very, very early maturity for my palate and it’s a 89-90 pt wine tonight. I am happy with that.

[JCNorthway]

Patrick, what kind of container do you use to freeze your wine?

[Blanquito]

I freeze it in the wine bottle with the cork back in the top. As long as at least 20% of the bottle is consumed, I’ve not had any overflow.

I am a complete devotee to this preservation method— young, robust wines can be frozen and thawed multiple times with no sign of deterioration, while such wines left overnight at room or cellar temps often decline even by the next day. I’ve stored wines for a year+ in the freezer with no evidence of deterioration. The only wines it doesn’t work well for are fully tertiary wines, which do decline (probably during the thawing process).

The main negative is filling up the freezer with half empty bottles. White wines do throw a sediment of tartaric acid crystals as well, but this doesn’t seem to negatively effect their taste.

Anyone else freeze their leftover wines?

(“Left Over Wines?”, asks Stefan, “Not sure what that is? Is that some new Napa winery”.)

[AKR]

I find the concept kind of strange. I can taste the difference in meat that's been frozen, especially seafood, and the majority of the time it doesn't make things better. There are those who consume freshly slaughtered chickens (from specialty/ethnic butchers) who believe that a 24 hour freeze prior to cooking helps, but that's an outlier case. There are some super fast commercial chillers used for sea borne processing that avoid intracellular ice crystallization, which is an interesting technology for getting (frozen) seafood to more of the nation.

Even regular juices make a big deal out of being fresh, not from frozen concentrate etc.

And, on a more practical matter, most of the time dry wines will be finished in a few days here and sweet wines can tolerate a week in the fridge, although there will be a little fading.

[stefan]

Patrick taught me to freeze wines. It even works with Champagne! I don't use the technique very often because we rarely have leftover wines. But lately Lucie has taken to abstaining on weekdays from time to time, so preservation has become an issue for me. Right now I am trying Repour. So far it looks good and it avoids the hassle of defrosting the saved wine.

[Blanquito]

Patrick taught me to freeze wines. It even works with Champagne! I don't use the technique very often because we rarely have leftover wines. But lately Lucie has taken to abstaining on weekdays from time to time, so preservation has become an issue for me. Right now I am trying Repour. So far it looks good and it avoids the hassle of defrosting the saved wine.

Wow, that's super cool!

Yes, the defrosting is a pain, I use a bowl of hot water to accelerate the process.

I first heard of this technique in one of Parker's books. He heard it from someone else and said it worked, so I tried it (probably first around 20 years ago now).

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I usually freeze my leftovers. The defrosted wine simply tastes and especially smells better to me than one that has only been refrigerated. And it keeps indefinitely unlike refrigerated wines. I used to transfer the leftovers to a half bottle or beer bottle to reduce head space (and also the size of the bottle to be stored) but I don't think it matters.

[AKR]

I'm drinking an (unfrozen) 2005 Charmail tonight that was opened last night, with an InstaPot beef stew.

It's a very nice example. I was looking at a map and didn't realize that La Tour Carnet is also right by their estate, along with Saint Paul and Sociando Mallet. I like all their wines, although LTC and St P., are only with limited one vintage taste experience.

There's some coffee notes here. It tastes much fresher, more vibrant than a teen age cru bourgeoise should.