2009 Ch Camensac Haut Medoc

[Claudius2]

2009 Ch Camensac Haut Medoc
I bought this quite cheaply at a closing down sale at Carrefour in Singapore.
Pity actually as it was the best place to get cheese and several other items. Oh well.

The wine is very dark in colour, almost black, with red/purple rim.
Decanted into the duck decanter a few hrs before consuming, with the nose being reticent first though offering typical 09 aromas - this vintage is a modern day 1982.
So it has aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, dark fruits, vanilla and sawn wood.
Palate is firm, medium to full bodied with powerful but ripe tanins - this is such a characteristic of 09.
The tannins are there in the abundance though they are ripe and chocolaty - reminding me of some Barossa Valley estates (I mean the tannin structure).
The fruit is NOT open though there is enough of it to give a glipse of what it will be like, and the ripe tannis and adequate acidity give nice mouthfeel and enough flavours to suggest it will be very nice in a decade or so.

You can drink it now if you decant it for some hours though I do think it is a bit of a waste.
Camensac has had a spotty history but on the basis of this tasting, it is now a very well made wine.
It isn't a lafite or Margaux but for the price paid (about $US30) I think it was a very good buy.
Scavenged the last 8 bottles they had.

[stefan]

It is hard to find '09 Camensac in the U.S. for under $30, Mark.

[Claudius2]

Stefan
Well Carrefour was selling off the bin ends.
This wine is miles ahead of any other Camensac I have tried (albeit only a few wines but I visited the estate in 200 and it wasn't much then),

[Ramon_NYC]

Bill,

I can see 2009 Camensac for < $25 here at PJs. Can also see it for < $27 in stores in Calif.
I'll keep this TN by Claudius in mind when I do my next online shopping at PJs. Looks like my kind of Bordeaux.

Ramon

[AlexR]

The Carrefour group is in big trouble worldwide. Are they simply closing down their store in Singapore?
In fact, Walmart wanted to take them over, but the shareholders found a way of excluding any takeover bid.

I will be visiting Camensac next month. It's odd, I've never been there before.
I've always considered the wine hearty and dependable.

Just ask yourself: is there a California or Australian Cabernet as good as this for the money?

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Claudius2]

Alex
Carrefour has two stores here - both in city locations.
The chain simply could not get more retail outlets which are tied up here and are controlled by a few vested interests.
They can't compete with 2 stores.
I'm disappointed as it stocked a lot of stuff I can;t get elsewhere like a great selection of French cand Australian cheeses, gourmet products et al.
And it had regular wine sales.

Re: is there an Aust or US wine as good as this?
I think 2009 is exceptional - the constant theme here is ripe, chocolaty tannins, low but adequate acidity, dense fruit and a lot of structure for long ageing.
So in 2009, the answer is that Bordeaux is hard to beat and even lesser priced wines (hey $30 is cheap these days for a classed growth) are very good at least.
Camensac is not a lafite or margaux but it is a very nice wine with a lot of upside and will drink well in maybe 5-10 years.
Guys if you can get it as $US25-27, you can't go wrong.

[finner]

1970 Camensac tasted a few years ago, was stupendously good.