2017 Red Bordeaux
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Chateau Cantenac Brown,
For laying down,
Ch. Cantenac Brown was fortunate this year in that it escaped much of the frost. The 2017 is a blend of 67 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 33 percent Merlot aged 60 percent in new barrels and 40 percent in one-year-old barrels. Very dark opaque purple colour with notes of compact dark fruit and violets. Suave and elegant on the palate with silky tannins finishing with a bright, fresh style.
Chateau Palmer,
For laying down,
Inky black/purple colour with a concentrated, intense nose of ripe blackcurrant and plum, sweet spice and violets. There is a lifted elegance here which is very appealing. The palate is full-bodied and concentrated, but is so fresh and mineral with juicy blackberry and bramble fruit, lots of sweet spice and herb notes. It’s complex and beguiling, with a lovely creamy texture and supple, elegant tannins. The finish is extremely long and fresh showing wonderful poise. The blend is 53 percent Merlot, 41 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 6 percent Petit Verdot. This is a great Palmer.
Chateau Mouton Rothschild,
For laying down,
A blend of 90 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, nine percent Merlot and one percent Petit Verdot, this falls into the glass with a deep, dark colour. There are strong aromatics of dried flowers, pepper and blackcurrant. Well-structured, it has lively acidity and compact, fresh fruit with mature tannins and a smooth mouth-feel. The palate offers notes of redcurrant, cherry and cassis, with a hint of pine. There’s lovely blue fruit on the mid-palate, with great texture that builds to a long finish, with smoky mocha notes and finely integrated tannins. A compact and lovely Mouton, this is a rich wine with huge complexity that goes on and on.
For laying down,
Dark ruby with attractive aromatics of blackcurrant, wood smoke and mocha, the wine is medium-bodied with a fresh, lively acidity and rich, dark fruit. It finishes long with a saline, taught minerality. The 2017 is a blend of 56 percent Merlot, 40 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and four percent Cabernet Franc.
Chateau Pape Clement,
For laying down,
The 2017 Ch. Pape Clément falls into the glass with a deep maroon colour. It has a delicate, expressive nose of red fruit, cassis, iron and wet stone. The blend is 49 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 48 percent Merlot, two percent Petit Verdot and one percent Cabernet Franc planted on clay gravels. The palate is medium-bodied with a lively, tannic grip. It finishes with a long, peppery, saline minerality. A complex wine which will reveal itself over many years.
Chateau Angelus,
For laying down,
A blend of 70 percent Merlot and 30 percent Cabernet Franc, the 2017 has a deep crimson colour and appealing aromatics which display coffee and mocha notes with blackberry and damson fruit. Unctuous fruit and a suave texture, there is bright acidity that brings freshness and flesh. Behind the notes of berry and cassis there is a hint of mint. Powerful and rich on the palate, this is a very good Angélus which combines freshness, finesse, tension and elegance.
Chateau Trotte Vieille,
For laying down,
The 2017 Ch. Trottevieille represents everything that is good about 2017 as a vintage. The nose has fresh aromas of strawberry, cherry and red plum fruit, complimented with a delicate spice. On the palate the bright cherry fruit combines well with chalky tannins and a racy acidity before moving to cedar and smoky oak characters on the finish.
Chateau Pavie,
For laying down,
What a dark and intense nose. At first, layers and layers of blackberries abound with purple juicy plum, with cherry, and some macerated cherry. This flows into eucalyptus, liquorice and a touch of menthol with a little chocolate and vanilla. On the palate the same concentration and abundance of flavour comes through. Tannins are bite-y so we would recommend this as one for laying down.
Cos d'Estournel,
For laying down,
Dense and deep the 2017 is reserved and brooding on the nose coming at you with a wave of blackcurrant and crème de cassis. A blend of 66 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 32 percent Merlot, one percent Cabernet Franc and one percent Petit Verdot. The palate is suave and silky with a fresh, seductive character and a graphite, spicy finish. Really very good.
For laying down,
A vivid crimson, the 2017 is a blend of 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 24 percent Merlot, four and a half percent Cabernet Franc and six and a half percent Petit Verdot. There is a slight earthy note to the nose, mingled with red fruit and spice. Medium-bodied, the palate has stylish, juicy fruit with grippy soft tannins and a core of ethereal acidity and freshness. It finishes with a consistent, saline minerality and a long, fine finish. Very charming.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild,
For laying down,
As usual the 2nd wine of Lafite Rothschild is a little shy, needing a little coaxing from the glass. Cassis abounds with a gentle hint of plum and lead pencil. The palate is caressing and gentle as usual with a lovely interplay between the filigree tannins and crunchy acidity. Never a large wine, this is a pretty wine that will reward cellaring over the next 10+ years. Pure.
For laying down,
A lovely property in the tiny appellation of the Côtes de Francs, the 2017 Marsau is deep ruby in colour with attractive aromas of bright redcurrants and wild black cherries, courtesy of the juicy Merlot dominance in the blend. Medium bodied on the palate with crunchy red fruit and silky, integrated tannins. A touch of chalkiness to the acidity brings a freshness throughout, and a purity of red cherry and forest fruit sits at the heart of this crowd-pleasing style. Suave and finely textured, a very decent effort which will drink well from 2020 – 2026+.
Chateau Lilian Ladouys,
For laying down,
This wine provides sweet and pronounced aromas of plum, blueberry and red berry, with a little minerality and tobacco too. Precise and elegant on the palate, this is a veritable fruit-salad of strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and mint – with a complexity gained from notes of pepper and the overall kitchen spice box. 2017 is good in St-Estèphe, and this could be one of the year’s bargains. Drink between 2021 to 2030.
For laying down,
This 17-hectare vineyard produces a wine which is a blend of 75 percent Merlot, 20 percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark crimson in colour this has pleasing, generous aromatics of redcurrants and plum fruit. The texture is suave and harmonious, leaving a wine which is fresh and smooth.
Chateau d'Armailhac,
For laying down,
A blend of 68 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 22 percent Merlot, seven percent Cabernet Franc and three percent Petit Verdot. Garnet red with notes of liquorice, bilberry, pepper and spice. Fresh acidity in the mouthfeel. Grippy tannins and lively acidity. Vibrant berry and cherry notes on the nose. Medium-bodied and tightly wound, with crisp red cherry fruit great acidity and refreshing pepper finish. Lovely balance and poise; svelte and compact.
Chateau Clerc Milon,
For laying down,
With red berry and strawberry fruit on the nose, this wine is a touch more open and inviting than the Armailhac. With a lovely textural mouthfeel, it is open and giving on the strong and richly fruited mid palate, with red berry and cassis fruit, and good length. Juicy and rather attractive, it is open and yet still fresh. Classy, generous and very good.
For laying down,
Ch. Pédesclaux has made an exceptionally good Pauillac in 2017. A blend of 48 percent Merlot, 47 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, thee percent Petit Verdot and two percent Cabernet Franc, it has a really good depth of cassis fruit, with finely balanced Cabernet fruit, and a nice luscious note on the mid-palate. A rich and fine long length exists, with a seamless finish.
Chateau Haut-Brion,
For laying down,
Jean-Philippe Delmas compares the 2017 to 1988 because of the freshness of the acidity and the ripeness of the fruit. A blend of 53 percent Merlot, six percent Cabernet Franc and 40 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, with aromatics of morello cherry and damson fruits. The palate is fresh with silky tannins, dark, ripe fruit that really shines through on the palate and coats the mouth giving the sensation of vibrant acidity coated by expressive, blue fruit. It finishes very long with a gentle, saline finish.
For laying down,
Veronique Saunders says that in 2017 the estate lost 30 percent of fruit due to frost. Dark ruby, the nose has notes of spices, cedar, dark fruit and cassis. On the palate it is medium bodied and extremely silky with high quality tannins. A blend of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 32 percent Merlot, four percent Cabernet Franc and four percent Petit Verdot, it has a gentle, delicate feel in 2017 with cool fruit and a long persistent finish.