TN: 05 La Commanderie [St Emilion]

[AKR]

a St Emilion seldom seen stateside

05 La Commanderie [St Emilion] Here's a St Em. which I have not seen/heard of before, which I squirreled away some years ago. Apparently it is rarely imported into the US, generally only sold into France, Belgium, Switzerland along with some far Eastern countries. Its owned by the same team which owns Clos de Jacobins, and surprisingly, seems to have recently engaged Hubert du Bouard for consulting services. The abv is 14%, the color is a lively ruby, and over two days it drinks well, suggesting it still has life ahead of it. It's full bodied, with thick legs, and an unlikely choice for another hot week here, but it had cooled off just a touch so I pulled the cork on this. There's still a little tannin, but acids are well balanced by the fruit. It has developed some layers and complexity, that the young Cotes de Castillon I had the other day did not show. Mostly a blend of merlot, with a big dollop of cab franc, which supposedly comes from the gravelly area by Figeac. It threw a modest amount of sediment. On the palate I get plums, fennel, and graphite. I quite like it and would give it a B+ in my ledger. I would not consider the 2005 to taste like an over engineered moderniste; to me style wise its balanced between traditional and international camps. That may be different now, if du Bouard is advising, but I think its just better to taste and make determinations, rather than rule out estates a priori. The label is rather drab, I would note and seems like an easy aspect to 'fix' if they are aiming to boost sales of their 2500 cs production (credit to the good Jeff Leve for that info).