Two from the 'lesser' appellations

[Rudi Finkler]

My hopes were high, when I opened my first bottle of the 2005 Beaulieu Comtes de Tastes, Bordeaux Supérieur, shortly after release. I remember a deeply coloured, concentrated, beefy wine, with layers of dark fruits, an unmistakable earthiness, and plenty of oak...
The earthiness remains as well as the oak, but the concentrated fruit is rather diffuse, and I can't help having the impression that the fruit is beginning to fade, and the wine is beginning to fall apart somehow. It lacks the balance, purity, elegance, and precision to be an excellent wine, but nevertheless, it is a very good generic Bordeaux and worth the price, about €13, when I remember correctly.

The more classically styled 2005 Colin de Pey, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, about €9 in 2008, is clearly the more interesting wine. A complex, elegant nose of red fruits and dark berries, iodine and spicy oak is followed on the palate by intense pure fruit including notes of sour cherry, black currant, and blueberry. The tannins are still not entirely resolved, but nicely integrated. On the spicy, mineral finish, the delicious note of sour cherry lingers on and on. An excellent effort from the Lurton brothers! And a real bargain!

[AKR]

Glad the first was ok

http://www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com/ ... lit=comtes

[Rudi Finkler]

Thanks for the link! I had completely repressed the memory of the cork debacle in the meantime.