Le Dome, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2011

Tasting Notes:

Château Malescot St-Exupéry owes its name to two former owners -Simon Malescot, a royal councillor to the Bordeaux parliament, who acquired the estate in 1697, and Count Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Exupéry, who owned it from 1827 to 1853. Intense purple-bluish crimson. Focused nose of ripe red fruits. Full attack, refined, closely-integrated stuffing with focused fruit expression. The 2012 Chateau Malescot St Exupery has a touch of warmth on the finish. Good length. Profound, well-structured and nicely fashioned across the palate.

Pairing:

Beef, Tuna, Poultry

Tasting Notes:

This Single Vineyard wine is made from a single hectare on 'Asteries' (rock limestone) soil between Chateau Fonroque and Clos Fourtet. The vines survived the frost of 1956 and are up to eighty years old. 'Panacheed' in the old style (Merlot interspersed with Cabernet Franc to ensure easy blending in the days before pumps) they are cropped down to four bunches per vine to reflect the 'terroir' of the parcel. A formidable wine has loads of structure, an undeniable chalky minerality, big, rich blackberry and creme de cassis fruit, with hints of spring flowers, tar and licorice. Magnificent and pure, this is a killer example of St.-Emilion that is full-bodied and capable of lasting 25-30 years.

Pairing:

Beef, Lamb, Poultry

Tasting Notes:

Clos Fourtet is a Premier Grand Cru Classé estate in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux. The Merlot-dominant wine is prized for its combination of elegance with ripe berry fruit, and has long been a favorite of critics and successful at award shows.The wine has an opaque blue/black color and abundant notes of forest floor, spring flowers, black raspberry and blueberry liqueur in the aromatics along with hints of espresso and white chocolate. The wine is dense, full, rich, unctuously textured and very full-bodied, with its extravagant glycerin, fruit and extract covering the wine’s somewhat tannic structure.

Pairing:

Beef, Lamb, Poultry, Tuna