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2000 Clos les Lunelles
By perryd | December 17, 2007
The 2000 was produced the year before before Gerard Perse and his wife purchased this 24-acre property. The 2000 Lunelles is about 80% Merlot, the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon and a bit of Cabernet Franc, as is more or less traditional for the Cotes de Castillon. It’s just now coming to its peak…the wine is starting to show a tinge of maroon around the edge, and it has started to produce that lovely cigar-box and cedar character of a maturing wine. There’s a nice touch of tannin still which will likely stay with the wine over the next few years as it ages. It’s still a bit hot and you’ll want to let it sit in the glass a few minutes to let off a little steam.
This is how I like right-bank wines to taste…mature but still full of that lovely grapey Merlot flavor. The soil around Cotes de Castillon is a mix of clay and gravel and seems to give the Merlot a little bit of that mineral taste that you’d expect from the other side of the river. It doesn’t hurt that 2000 was just an overall excellent year in Bordeaux…just about anything from that vintage will drink well. This particular wine has a few more years left in it…another five, at least, especially if you like your Bordeaux a bit on the sherry side.
The good news is that this is a very affordable bottle. Most places it carry the 2000 for under $20 (search for it at WineZap), and Wine Commune regularly has it at auction for about half of that price (search for it at Wine Commune). Parker gives the wine 90 points, which makes it a great value.
Topics: Wine |