TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

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AKR
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TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by AKR »

09 La Cardonne [Medoc] Purchased last week, popped and poured at room temp. Bluntly -- it sucks. I drink a lot of Bordeaux, mostly throughout the lower to mid points of the price range, so this isn't a complaint about earthiness from a Napa tuned palate. I know what to expect from various regions, vintages, and vintners. Here the nose is pinched, the palate is at a quinine level bitterness, while the finish is short. I thought "ok, maybe it needs time/air", so I put the bottle away after a glass for a night. It was much worse the second day. Ok maybe its corked, I'm not very TCA sensitive, but the SO is, and she didn't pick up any mouldy smells, but did state, on both nights, "something is wrong with this" with the tastes she had. I had purchased two bottles, so pulled the other, and poured it to compare side by side. It's just as bad. Although I guess its possible to get two corked bottles in a row, its never happened to me (admittedly I'm not super sensitive to that) so I either think the wine quality or the provenance is poor. But it doesn't taste cooked (no stewed prune flavors) to me, which is the weird part. I'm giving it a C- or a D. Note that this is a composite note, from two bottles. I can count the number of bottles I've poured down a sink in my life on my hands; the first already went there and the other is going in about 20 min.

If you've had this, would love to hear any experiences with the 09 (I hope I'm either just unlucky, or had bad sourcing) Last one I've had was a 96 perhaps 15 years ago, which didn't stick out in my memory one way or another. And if one is tempted by this, and its a provenance issue, this all seems to be in the North East area. I suggest tasting before buying.

==========

It's been a long time since I've seen or chatted with anyone on BWE; I've been out of the wine scene for a number of years, between moving/marriage/kids/family illness/career change/joint rebuilds etc. But I've stayed in touch with a few West Coast legacy/alumni BWEers and periodically got together with them. Mr. Vino reached out the other day and mentioned this site was still up and running, although it looks like the old TN and posts are lost to the sands of time, so I appreciate that heads up. I lost all my electronic TN files, and for a long time stopped keeping track anyways, but am starting to think more intellectually about wine again.

I saw some of those pics in the other thread. Amazing. How time flies.
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Roel
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by Roel »

Interesting TN, AKR! It may be a case of heat damage or other bad storage issues if the two bottles came from the same lot. Haven't checked CT to see what others thought and I haven't had the wine myself, but it sounds like something indeed was not meant to be in these bottles. 2009 + Médoc at this level should at least be pleasing, juicy, ripe, etc. Always sad to pur wine down the sink..
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AKR
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by AKR »

Yes, that's why I posted it. Trying to figure out if its a specific bad lot. Or if that's just the way it is. Lots of this floating around NE USA. But it didn't taste 'cooked'.
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JimHow
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by JimHow »

Holy mackerel, it's THE AKR, welcome back stranger!
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AlexR
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by AlexR »

Yup, welcome back Arv!

Alex
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Jay Winton
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by Jay Winton »

You may remember I posted about being in contact with a old BWEer. Welcome back, Arv!
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DavidG
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by DavidG »

Yes, good to see you posting again Arv!
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tim
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by tim »

Wow, welcome back Arv!
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stefan
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by stefan »

It's good to see you back on, Arv. I hope you stay around.
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Comte Flaneur
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Welcome back to the flock Arv. You were missed.
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Nicklasss
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by Nicklasss »

Good décision, and good to see you back Mr. Rao.

Want to read you more.

Nic
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JCNorthway
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by JCNorthway »

Nice to see you posting again, Arv. Long-time BWE'er makes his posting re-entry with "yuck" review. :)
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AKR
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by AKR »

Consider it more of a warning! and a shoutout to see if anyone else has tripped over this....want to see if I'm wrong.

Tasted a little more last night. Maybe not a D grade anymore. But still very wrong. Not like any other 09 sampled so far.

Good to hear from so many of you.
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Racer Chris
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by Racer Chris »

Arv,
Thanks for pointing to this topic in another thread.
My experience has been quite different from yours.
I like it enough that I've drank 8 of 22 bottles purchased so far.

Here's a tasting note I wrote in August, 2015:
Dark red, fairly heavy and somewhat brooding, but well balanced.
13.5% alc., medium acidity, dark fruit flavors with some gravel notes, a bit of baking spice, and smooth silky tannins.
Looks and tastes more like Cab than Merlot.
Nice long finish.
Drinks well now but should continue to develop nicely.
90 pts.

A more recent note I wrote mentions a bit of green pepper around the edges.
Keep in mind that my palate isn't especially sensitive, I don't have a good repertoire of descriptors, and I've only been drinking wines from Bordeaux for a couple of years.
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Racer Chris
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Re: TN: 09 La Cardonne [Medoc] - yuck!

Post by Racer Chris »

I just drank a bottle of 2010 La Cardonne over the last couple days. Its' more expressive than the '09 but not over the top by any means.
Rich, dark fruit, some minerality and a hint of pencil shavings. An excellent 2010 Cru Bourgeois for about $20.
50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet, 5% Cab Franc. 13.5% abv.
I need a couple cases of this.
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