California wines take on Bordeaux
Published Wednesday, April 20, 2005
It didn't sound like a fair fight to me: Bordeaux vs. California cabernet.
That was the name of Sunday's sellout tasting at B-21 Wine Company in Tarpon Springs, matching a couple of heavy hitters. But I didn't expect it to be much of a competition. Bordeauxs generally don't show well at large tastings such as this, especially young ones. These wines need hours of decanting and/or years in the cellar to really open up. Many California cabs, however, are much more approachable in their youth.
So to even the field, I decided to compare Bordeauxs with similarly priced California wines that aren't solely cabernet sauvignons, but actually are blends of the Bordeaux varietals: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot.
Here's how some of my favorites compared:
2002 Chateau Reignac ($22) vs. '03 Hahn Central Coast Meritage ($13): The Reignac has very good aromas of dark fruits, espresso and toasted nuts, with good flavors of the same. The Hahn delivers very nice aromas and flavors of sweet dark and red fruits, plus hints of vanilla and oak. Considering it's barely half the price of the Bordeaux, I'll take the Hahn.
'01 Chateau Charmail ($20) vs. '01 Estancia Meritage ($20): The Charmail has a very good nose and flavors of roasted coffee and dark fruit, plus hints of earth in the mouth. This has good structure to age a bit, but is drinking very nicely now. The Estancia has a light mouth feel and delivers very nice earthy aromas and flavors of nuts and dark fruits. In a close call, the edge goes to Ch. Charmail.
'01 Lucia ($35) vs. '01 St. Clement Oroppas ($40): The Lucia has a big nose dominated by roasted coffee, plus buttered popcorn and sweet, dark fruit; similar big flavors. Although this Bordeaux has huge fruit, there's also good acidity and tannin in support. The St. Clement has an excellent, complex nose of spice, espresso and toasty dark fruits, with similar flavors. An elegant wine, with great fruit and great structure. Wonderful now, it will only improve with decanting or a few more years. Another close one, but the winner is St. Clement.
'02 Chateau Leoville Barton ($40) vs. '01 Justin Isoceles ($50): The Leoville Barton has very nice aromas of toasty dark fruits. This young wine is still tight, with only muted dark fruit flavors. They did, however, start to blossom with time. This has potential, but needs three to five more years or several hours of decanting to really show its stuff. The Isoceles, meanwhile, is ready to go when you pop the cork. It has a very good nose of butterscotch, mushroom and dark fruits, with excellent flavors of dark red fruits, sweet spice and vanilla. A fruit forward wine that is drinking beautifully already, it also has the structure to improve in the three to five years. Even taking into account the price difference, the winner is Justin.
So, the California entries beat Bordeaux at their own game, 3-1. And when you consider the California cabs that were poured, the Golden State definitely shone brightest Sunday.
-- Keith St. Clair frequents tastings throughout Tampa Bay. E-mail him at stclair@tampabay.com.
