Bordeaux-style Red Blend

Country: Chile / Magia Negra Ensamblaje Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Maule Valley Winery: Leyendas de Familia / Herbal, olive-infused aromas of berry fruits and plum are restrained and typical of Chile. This feels round and nonaggressive, while roasted flavors of cassis and plum come with a hint of minty green. On the finish, bell pepper […]

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Petite Sirène / Bordeaux Strong wood-aging flavors give a spice and bitter chocolate character. The result, though, is that the wood softens the potentially stalky fruit and helps accent the underlying red berry flavors with attractive acidity. Drink now.

Country: France / Réserve Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Cheval Quancard / Bordeaux The wine feels light and very soft. There are some attractive red berry fruits, along with acidity and wood flavors, but the tannic structure is hardly there. It’s an enjoyable, lightweight wine to drink now through 2016.

Country: France / Tradition Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Thuron / Bordeaux Supérieur The 2004 vintage is certainly mature, but with a light touch it is still attractive to drink. Mushroom and spice are lifted by juicy acidity. The dryness at the end shows it is ready to drink.

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Southwest France Winery: Château Moulin de Bel-Air / Bergerac You can tell the age from the color and the faded mushroom flavors on the palate. It does merit some passing interest as a wine from the very hot 2003 vintage, but that’s about all.

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Tour Seran / Médoc Ripe plum, dark coffee and spice flavors join the firm tannins in this intense wine. It has a strong structure that needs to soften to allow the juicy black-currant flavor to surface. Give it 4–5 years.

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château le Temple / Médoc Close to the Gironde estuary, le Temple’s wines are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, making for a powerful, complex bottling, with great acidity and black currant flavor. This has potential to age for at least five years.

Country: France / Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Lanbersac / Puisseguin Saint-Émilion Using fruit that was sourced from a five-acre parcel of old vines, the black plum fruit coddles the tannins. It shows the structure and ripeness of the vintage.

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Domaine de l’A / Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux While this Stephané Derenoncourt wine has dry tannins, it also has ripe fruit and blackberry flavors. Concentrated and firm for now, from 18 months in barrel, it will develop well to give a rich wine in the future. […]

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Barbé / Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux This Bayle-Carreau wine, one of five fifth-generation family estates, is balanced between the dry core of tannins and the ripe black fruit. With acidity and a fine structure, it has great potential. As it develops the wine will show […]

Country: France / La Gloire de Mon Père Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Southwest France Winery: Château Tour des Gendres / Côtes de Bergerac This well-balanced, deliciously ripe wine is full of black fruit, dark tannins and crisply textured acidity. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, it’s juicy and rich while also poised and […]

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Saint-André Corbin / Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion From the smallest of the Saint-Emilion satellite villages, this wine has swathes of black fruit aromas that go well with its firm tannins, dense blackberry flavors and concentration. Ripe Merlot dominates the blend, giving both structure and fruit. Drink from 2021.