Daniel P. Drake

8.9

Last night I opened the 2009 Château Cambon la Pelouse. Left Bank Bordeaux from Macau in the Haut-Medoc. A blend of 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot.

On the nose there is black cherry, blackberry, black plum, black currant, tobacco, licorice, cedar, charcoal anddark earth.

On the palate is black cherry, blackberry, black currant, green bell pepper, cedar, licorice and pencil shavings.

This wine is full bodied with a silky smooth mouthfeel medium acidity and medium fine tannins that leaves you with a medium to medium + long fleshy dark fruit earthy finish. Please have a wonderful weekend and stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 3 years ago

K J

9.2

Del Frisco Orlando. Cedar vanillla and some funkiness. A little shallow finish. — 5 years ago

Patrice Conxicoeur

9.0

Plenty of oomph and layered aromas in this classic expression of Haut-Medoc who took a double decanting and a couple of hours to feel fully opened. Loved it all the same, but will be better in 5 years. — 5 years ago

James Gerhart

8.9

Apparently a 3rd wine of a 5th growth. Decent Bordeaux but not worth a revisit. — 6 years ago

Ebbe Bonde Soerensen

9.0

Wow, tasty fresh Haut Medoc, this is a fine new standard , great fruits, no oak, just pure joy😍 — 6 years ago

Paul Wright

9.0

Really enjoyed it. Very low acidity, low alcohol. Almost no wood. Dark berries. — 7 years ago

with Caroline

Joshua Chan

9.0

Typical medoc that is detectable in the nose. Pencil lead and smoke. Age has softened the tannins to such an enjoyable level. — 7 years ago

Luke Bucciarelli

9.0

Nice magnum opened up well in the decanter, a very jammy year — 8 years ago

Jonas Johansson

9.1

Great with the first stew of the season. — 9 years ago

Carlo Maria Rossotto

9.1

Great Haut Medoc with Friends in Dakar — 3 years ago

Brian

9.5

Floral notes. Strawberry undertone. Low tannin. Med low acid. 13% ABV. Dry. Medlight body.
Very good and drinkable.
55% cab sauv. 40% merlot. 5% cab franc — 4 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have mentally thought about doing this post for quite awhile. Opening this 2003 Verdignan brought on the appropriate moment. I am a believer in paying respects and it’s the basis of this post.

We learn to drink certain wines from the regions we live near or from the people we learn & enjoy wine with as we walk the road to understanding what we really enjoy. I started as an exclusive CA Chardonnay drinker for many years before moving on to nearly every varietal and regions offer. Next was Napa Cabernets which, led me to my true love, red Bordeaux. It was a bit of curve getting there but, once I had them with proper aging, I was hooked for life.

While my curiosity got me to Bordeaux wines, there one person that helped shape my Bordeaux palate and I agreed with more than anyone else’s, including every well known wine critics at that time and even today after spending 10 weeks learning from several Master Sommeliers on my way to passing the Court of Master Sommeliers exam and becoming a Sommelier myself. This person is Clyde Beffa Jr., Owner of K&L Wine Merchants.

Clyde has been traveling to Bordeaux for over 40 years and sometimes multiple times in a year. His palate and experience are second to none. Especially, when it comes to Bordeaux.

I owe him a lot. He taught me the importance of letting good Bordeaux’s age 20 years plus. What were the jewel value producers. Brought in Bordeaux wines direct from the Chateaus that had 10 years of bottle age and older. Bordeaux’s that critics did not like young but, he knew something special had taken place over time as he was tasting them much later in their lives and often. I bought and drank a lot of these wines. They also kept temptation at bay in me reaching for my too young and more expensive wines.

He is very kind and kind enough to allow me to travel with him & key staffers to the 2014 En Premier to taste what was a very difficult 2013 Bordeaux vintage. You can go to En Premier and then there is going with Clyde. You have all the key appointments, Chateau accommodations/dinners and taste somewhere around 1500 plus wines in 6 days. He is loved by the Bordelais and for good reason.

So, I dedicate this post to him. He is the one who told me to buy this little known 2003 Verdignan at the same “Affordable Bordeaux Tasting” I mentioned in my Chateau de Candale post on Friday. As of Friday, that was the wine of the tasting. Well…until I coravined this slowly over the weekend. This 2003 was under $25 and it is one of the very best Bordeaux’s I had in some time. As well, perhaps the best QPR in my over 20 years collecting wine. Clyde knew that day just how good it would become. He said, forget about this for 20 years. So, I am a little early here.

Clyde has recommended more great Bordeaux’s to me that most people don’t hear about, let alone try. He told me to buy the poorly reviewed 91 Pichon Lalande when he brought more into the store seven years ago Chateau direct. It was a very difficult vintage with spring frost, hail storm and a difficult growing season. He described as “Heaven in a Bottle” and It most certainly the case. To this day, Pichon Lalande is my favorite steak wine and the 91 is still my favorite vintage. I purchased a 3L from him recently that he brought in direct from the Chateau for my 60th next year. Can’t wait to open that with our good friends and celebrate.

As for the Verignan, the nose reveals; dark brooding & slightly bake fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, some poached strawberries & haunting blue fruits. Black tea, forest floor with leaves, anise, limestone, moist clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stones, beautiful, mid intensity dark spice, dry tobacco, graphite, mixed dark berry cola, understated, well layered baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, dry herbs, mint with candied; dark, red, blue and purple florals.

The body is full, rich, lush, satiny with plenty of well rounded, soften tannins. The tension, structure, length and balance are excellent and will continue to improve. This will last another 15 years and beyond with proper storage. This is a very classic Bordeaux well balance in fruit and earth. It is sheer elegance on the palate. It’s why I love Bordeaux more than Napa and I love Napa Valley Cabernet. Dark brooding & slightly bake, ripe fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, boysenberries, some poached strawberries & haunting blue fruits. Black tea, dark chocolate bar, touch of mocha powder, light caramel notes, Expresso notes, forest floor with leaves, anise, limestone, moist clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stones, beautiful, mid intensity dark Asian & Indian spices with just right amount of palate heat, dry tobacco, graphite, dry twigs with a little sap, mixed dark berry cola, understated, well layered baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, dry herbs/sage, mint with candied; dark, red, blue and purple florals. The acidity is round and nearly perfect. The long finish is, classic, elegant, well balance fruit and earthy Bordeaux that persists softly on the palate for minutes with just the right amount of spice.
This is a heady wine that you really think about as you slowly sip and it affects your whole body. Can’t wait to have another in five years.

Photos of; Chateau Vergignan in Medoc near St. Estephe, their vineyard that reveals where Bordeaux gets its earthiness, Owner Jean Miaihle who acquired the property in 1972 and a wide shot of their vines. — 5 years ago

Luke Washbrook

9.0

Love the rich complex earthy nose of this medoc cry bourgeois! — 8 years ago

Dawn E.

9.2

I love this Bordeaux from Medoc! Per WE vintage chart the 2015 rates in at a 99, of course not ready to drink yet! I have a few more tucked away and wanted to give this a spin! Thank you @David T for the recommendation!
Finesse is all I can say. Every element is meshed exceedingly well! Smoke, chocolate, dark berries, espresso, earth, leather, pencil lead, and violets.
This wine does not have the wallop of a Napa cab..but think Old World on steroids! — 4 years ago

Daniel M

8.9

N°2 de Verdignan 2002
The cork broke while I pulled it. Huh
After putting it in a decanter and letting it rest a bit, here is how it shows itself:
Mushroom, leather, tobacco, conserved cherries in spirit, a little bit of black currant too. The nose is showing its age. The palate is surprisingly rather smooth and round where I was expecting edges and tannins. That conserved cherry note plays its part all along, there is a strong acid drive too, a bit of matter on the sides with a nice mouthfeel (I was expecting a thinner wine considering the vintage...). In the rear, tannins are very much fully integrated now and give way to a rather long finish with that same cherry note and a touch of bitterness. I am pleasantly surprised as I was expecting a thin and faded away wine. — 4 years ago

Daniel M

9.0

Very concentrated, complex nose with black currant, tar, cedar, vanilla, caramel, oak and some spices. This is inviting and screams Medoc GCC in your face. The palate is perfectly balanced with a nice velvety touch on the sides, some dusty, very nice tannins, a massive acid backbone, a radiant fruit all along and a long finish with currant, a bit of salt and some nice bitterness flowering up in the end. The palate is not overwhelming and every part is a bit under control. Maybe a tad too much to be a great wine but considering the vintage (which I often find myself liking very much lately) this is a great effort. Happy birthday dad! — 5 years ago

Freek Welter

9.5

Underrated vintage......my .ss! 😁 — 7 years ago

James Isaacs

8.9

Basic Haut-Medoc with all the usual suspects. Strong notes of camphor and young tannins a bit off-putting. A bit young - best to wait.
— 7 years ago

Daniel M

9.0

Leather, earth, woods, raspberry, Blue berries, spices. Wonderful old medoc nose, progressively reaching its dawn though. Palate with a strong acid backbone, fully integrated and a bit dusty tannins, raspberry and cherry, mushrooms and chocolate. The finish is quite quick with a bitter chocolate taste. Still very alive — 7 years ago

Robert Harmelin

9.3

75 Bordeaux in great shape from a very good — 8 years ago