The Sub-$15 Bordeaux Battle
By: Jameson Fink
Published: June 2, 2010

Spurred on by an article in the New York Times detailing the disdain for Bordeaux that young(er) wine drinkers and pros inexplicably have, I decided to gather a few inexpensive Bordeauxs to taste. I was hoping to be able to mount a spirited defense of this wine region under siege.  Here are my impressions of the four wines you see pictured above:

2007 L'Ecuyer de Couronneau: Very acidic, thin, and lacking in fruit.
2007 Chateau La Grange de Grenet: Classic and classy Bordeaux.
2006 Chateau Douley: Pronounced minty/eucalyptus character that I enjoy but would be very polarizing. It's a love or hate wine. Reminds me of a Chilean Cabernet.
2008 La Croix du Duc: The winner. Perfectly balanced, nice acidity, moderate tannins, and low oak influence. Developed remarkably for a $10 wine.

So what can I extrapolate from this (admittedly) small sampling? I think one of the biggest problems Bordeaux is facing is that none of these wine have the rich fruit and sweet oak that most casual drinkers have come to expect in wines from California, Washington, Australia, and Spain. They don't have any of that initial sizzle on the first sip. (Nor, from a marketing standpoint, do the labels have any sizzle as well.) The wines are a bit austere and, even at this price, need a bit of air to show their best. And when you are picking out a wine that you want to take home and enjoy with dinner, you don't want something you have to think about opening in advance. (Though you could pour yourself a small glass while you cook.) This issue was most apparent in my favorite, the La Croix du Duc. When I first pulled the cork, this wine was a bit funky smelling. It tasted good, but the smell was slightly, let's say, troubling. After about an hour, that off-putting smell had blown off and it was a lovely wine. Boy it would've been great with a burger or a steak, especially if mushrooms were involved in some way.
So if you need a vacation from monolithic wines dominated by oak to the point that they smell and taste of vanilla extract, Bordeaux is still quietly producing distinctive wines at reasonable prices. And yeah, like any other wine region, you have do a bit of exploring to find the gems.
One final thought about the La Croix du Duc: this would be a great wine for the cellar. Yes, a $10 wine for the cellar.  Not to keep for  an eternity, but I would buy a case of this (which would probably knock the price down to 9 bucks a bottle), stash it away in a cool, dark area, and drink a bottle a month for a year. I think by the time you opened that last bottle, you'd have a great education on how a wine can develop and change--without breaking the bank. Cellaring wine is not just about ferreting away $100+ trophy wines for decades; it's within your reach!

Jameson Fink is a wine buyer at a bustling grocery store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He moved to Seattle from Chicago (where he dabbled in the restaurant and wine industries) five years ago to pursue a full-time career in wine. He’d rather be drinking Champagne and eating popcorn right now.

Comments:
Maxine
June 2, 2010

Thanks for the article. Great Bordeaux can be truly great, even at some lower prices, and on occasion, pricey Bordeaux can be less than satisfying, so I really enjoyed your notes here. Part of the joy of tasting wine is finding that  "diamond in the rough." Keep encouraging!!
Gabi

This is really interesting. Thanks for pointing out the NYT piece. I had no idea so many people are so passe about Bordeaux these days.
As someone who used to work for a wine magazine themselves, I have a fair bit of disdain for Robert Parker, and I was disappointed to see his praise of the 2009 vintage: "“For some Médocs and Graves, 2009 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux.” I remember a great clamour about the 2005 vintage, and I think he may be handing out his praise to this (no doubt praise-worthy) region a bit too easily.
I think, particularly among younger wine drinkers, this shift is marked more by price, even than perception. I can't argue with the fact that Bordeaux may have a slightly "stodgy" reputation, and that lesser known (and less expensive) grapes from Spain are very in these days. But in my own food serving experience, Bordeaux is a great wine for less-cultivated palates because of the luscious grape flavor. Malbec, which is also very in this days, is very rough and can be quite tannic. I think younger wine drinkers are drinking this wines more for the price or the name and have gotten used to these loud flavors.