Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

picked up half a case for everyday quaffing. Anyone tried this estate?

Jay,

There are a couple with that name in Bordeaux.
What's the AOC?

Alex

Sorry, it's from the Medoc 55-Merlot rest cab I think.

Hi Jay,

I've not had any of the Canteloups.
There are six of them.

Two of these are in the Médoc, there's one in Saint-Estèphe and one in Blaignan (AOC Médoc), which is the second wine of Château La Gorce. The latter seems more likely.
La Gorceis a 44-hectare cru bourgeois.
http://www.chateaulagorce.com/en.html

Alex

There's also one in the Piedmont which makes a pretty good rose.

That was what I thought of first.

Odds are if one finds a smaller estate from a good vintage from a good retailer, it'll be a safe bet.

By that I mean MacArthurs, Sherry Lehman etc.

Over time I've found that if someone is buying 100-200 cases to import, they'll have the expertise to figure if it'll appeal to their clientele.

from the email:

Château Canteloup vineyards are located on the hillsides of Blaignan, a famed Médoc (left bank) village located about 6 miles northwest of Saint-Estephe. It is less than 10 miles north, north-west from Château Lafite Rothschild! The soils in this excellent Bordeaux growing area are near the edge of the calcareous clay layers over Eocene era limestone that make Saint-Estephe wines so special. The vineyard consists of 10 hectares, planted to about 45% cabernet sauvignon and 55% merlot.

The wines are made by Château La Gorce, a Cru Bourgeois property that dates back to 1821. In 1980, Raoul Fabre (of Bordeaux's famous Fabre family) took over the estate, which is still run by his children.

The vineyard work is of top importance, with vineyard decisions made to get the highest quality fruit possible. They harvest late, waiting longer than others in the area until the fruit is fully ripe. This choice risks quantity in years with difficult fall weather, but it gives the best possible quality in great years (like 2010). In the cellar, the winemaker carefully blended free-run juice with pressed juice for the Château Canteloup. Fermentation is slow and cool in carefully temperature controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve complex aromatics. The components are then aged in French oak barrels before bottling.

from the email:

Château Canteloup vineyards are located on the hillsides of Blaignan, a famed Médoc (left bank) village located about 6 miles northwest of Saint-Estephe. It is less than 10 miles north, north-west from Château Lafite Rothschild! The soils in this excellent Bordeaux growing area are near the edge of the calcareous clay layers over Eocene era limestone that make Saint-Estephe wines so special. The vineyard consists of 10 hectares, planted to about 45% cabernet sauvignon and 55% merlot.

The wines are made by Château La Gorce, a Cru Bourgeois property that dates back to 1821. In 1980, Raoul Fabre (of Bordeaux's famous Fabre family) took over the estate, which is still run by his children.

The vineyard work is of top importance, with vineyard decisions made to get the highest quality fruit possible. They harvest late, waiting longer than others in the area until the fruit is fully ripe. This choice risks quantity in years with difficult fall weather, but it gives the best possible quality in great years (like 2010). In the cellar, the winemaker carefully blended free-run juice with pressed juice for the Château Canteloup. Fermentation is slow and cool in carefully temperature controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve complex aromatics. The components are then aged in French oak barrels before bottling.

I like checking out these kinds of chateau and often find the wines exceeding my expectations. At any rate they are easy on the wallet.

The strong American dollar also makes it a good environment for enjoying imports.

at $11pb not too great a risk. I'll report back when I pick them up.

Does it go well with prosciutto?

I've never seen this producer before,
but I picked up a couple others recently: 2010 Chateau Latour-Laguens (Bordeaux Superieur) and 2010 Ch. Chantelys (Cru Bourgeois)