TN: Caronne St. Gemme 2010

[Chasse-Spleen]

Caronne St. Gemme 2010

Dark, opaque purple. Currants on the nose, vanilla, hint of mineral. Tons of currants on the full bodied palate. Good, tannic finish with currant fruit. Definitely a left bank wine, 60% Cabernet, 35% merlot, 5% petit verdot. Very good acidity, good balance. Not over-oaked. Fine tannins but pretty smooth. Ready to go, so a modern wine in essence. Will probably shut down. Great cabernet fruit, and the acidity provides tension and drive. More grip shows up after awhile, and some smoke on the nose. More acid than tannins though I wouldn't say it was unbalanced by any means. It's pretty amazing to compare this to the 2000, which I bought a case of for $12 a bottle. This is much better, but you can get an idea of where it's coming from. Very good value at $19.

An ambitious and powerful wine, but true to its roots. Masculine in style, a dark suit and sunglasses kind of wine. A muscular Haut-Medoc. A good example of the 2010 style. Dare I say, a Jim Howe kind of wine?

-Chasse

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I drank a 2000 maybe 2 years ago. It was definitely a powerful wine with a lot of spicy tannin at age 10 let's call it. And as for masculine, it was more in the Rambo masculine vein than the Cary Grant, charming and masculine vein.

http://www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com/ ... +ste+gemme

[AlexR]

This has long been a sturdy, good value wine.
Glad to see that the 2010 is in the same vein.

I know you shouldn't compare apples and oranges, BUT the question is this: how does a wine like this stack up against the competition at that price point in the US.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[RDD]

This has long been a sturdy, good value wine.
Glad to see that the 2010 is in the same vein.

I know you shouldn't compare apples and oranges, BUT the question is this: how does a wine like this stack up against the competition at that price point in the US.

Best regards,
Alex R.

I think there are plenty of very good non-classified growths from the Bordeaux region in to 20.00 - 30.00 price range. So for Cabernet based wines I think Bordeaux has a QPR edge .
The Rhone has some excellent values.
But you can get very good Spanish wine for 10.00 - 20.00. To me that's where the bargains are.

[JimHow]

PJ's has the 2009 in stock for $17.97, I'll have to try a bottle.
I think the NH liquor stores has the 2010, I'll pick up a bottle on my way to the Sox game tomorrow night in Boston.

[Jay Winton]

I liked the 09 and bought a case. Price is good.