TN: 00 Ch. Brown 'rouge' [Pessac Leognan]

[AKR]

00 Ch. Brown 'rouge' [Pessac Leognan] Purchased EP, first time ever tasted, one of those lesser known estates I got from Bordeaux Wine Locators. Now they seem to have a quasi retail presence via Grand Vin Merchants in the PNW. Served cool, over two days, not decanted, with sauteed snapper and grilled patty pan squash. 12.5% abv, but full bodied and rich. The last glasses are darker and denser than the first ones, and after the wife tastes a glass, she decides she does want red with her fish after all, and has a big glugger. Nose of charred wood, pipe smoke, and sweet leather. Great long finish - 30 seconds - with still a touch of light tannins, not yet fully resolved. It's a good wine for sipping or food. I am very impressed with the typicite, complexity and well rounded nature. The bottle is also a brown bottle, something I irrationally love. It's an A- in my ledger. This is the only vintage I ever bought, and even then maybe only 1 or 2 bottles, but now I'll keep an eye open for it in the better Graves years. They make both red and white, and have 2nd wines, so be careful if one is buying on line that one is getting exactly what they expect.

[winodiver]

I picked up a case of this wine on release in Paris. It was only $13-14/bottle with the very favorable exchange rate at the time. I agree, it is a really nice Pessac, well priced and way under the radar. Still have 6 bottles left. I was also favorably impressed with the 98 and 99 red. Apparently also drank a bottle of the 99 white, but didn't record any notes on it.

[AlexR]

Brown is in a suburb of Bordeaux and it is a miracle that it ever survived urban sprawl...

The Brown in question was the grandfather of the Brown of Cantenac-Brown in Margaux.

The estate is jointly owned by the Mau family (who sold their négociant business to Frexenet in Spain) and a Dutch family.

Received wisdom in Bordeaux is that the white is better than the red. I tend to go along with this. I recently had a bottle of the 2005 red that was too oaky and modern in the negative sense of the word.
But I'll go back to the other bottle I have in a few years and see if it has improved.

The white is excellent and reasonably priced.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[AKR]

Radar ears on watch

Revisiting the 2000 Ch. Brown 'rouge' [Pessac Leognan] after many years, and it continues to be a joyous expression of red Graves. Medium bodied, and tannins now well resolved, and soft, if not silky. My bottle/cork are perfect, having been moved only 2-3 times over the decades (lots of sediment in the shoulder) and perhaps that's why it's shining today. Pipe smoke, oregano, rhubarb, even some iodine. Lots to love here for the BWE, and I reconfirm my prior mark, an A-. If I have had other examples from other vintages, I do not recall. (Ignoring something like a walkaround at a UGC or something, where perhaps their white might have been sipped and spat)

Garnet core with bricking edges, fully mature.

[AlexR]

Brown is beautiful estate surrounded by suburbs.

It is named after the same Scottish wine merchant, Jean Lewis Brown, who had Cantenac Brown in Margaux.

Actually, I prefer Brown blanc to Brown rouge (the colors are confusing, aren't they?).
The latter is kind of modern in style in my opinion. I have a bottle of the 2005 I should try soon. Maybe it has evened out some since the last time I had it.

The white is one of the best in Bordeaux in my opinion. OK, not up there with Haut Brion Blanc, but a really flavorsome aromatic wine that can hold its own with many a whte Burgundy.

All the best,
Alex