TN: 09 Ch. Plaisance 'Cuvee Alix' [Cotes de Bordeaux]

[AKR]

09 Ch. Plaisance 'Cuvee Alix' [Cotes de Bordeaux] Our dinner plans had a hitch last night, so we stayed home and I threw together some hash browns and omelets. I had picked this bottle up at K&L a while ago and was curious to try this Magrez family wine. I think I tried a 98 of a similar name, but do not recall if it was the St Emilion or some variant of this estate. (There are lots of estates with similar names). 14.5% abv, full bodied, lots of ripe, chocolatey merlot here. The fruit is more on the ripe red berry side, not plummy. Color is oxblood with no lightening yet. Just a hint of mint, oregeno on the finish. Houndsong would decry the modern/international build of this, but its a heck of a wine for $200/cs. To me the differentiation between this and the flagship right bank AOC's isn't that much, especially in a good vintage. One could spend $50 - $75 and get something that was only a smidge more complex or ageable. A nice B+ wine, that I would have loved to try blind vs. Cameron Hughes 2013 Meritage suite (lots 444, 457 and 468), which are like mini St Emilions from good years (to me). As you might expect, tannins are resolved, and the acids are well concealed.

The Magrez family's offerings are just so great, top to bottom.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Not necessarily.

[winodiver]

I went long on the 2000 of this wine, which was a huge bargain at around $100/case. It has been a very solid drink ever since. As I recall, Parker rated it at 90 points.