Wine Focus April 2023: Benchmarks of Cabernet Sauvignon

This bourgeois left bank claret gives the lie to the common belief that quality in Bordeaux is expensive. It cost about €14,50 at a Foire aux Vins a few years ago. The 2014 was equally good in a leaner style. Our local supermarket has the 2017 right now for a price of c.€17; it is probably quite like the 2014. Beau Site has a slightly higher Cabernet Sauvignon content (70%) than my recent Pontet-Canet, of which recent vintages cost about 9/10 times more than Beau Site.

2009 Château Beau-Site - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (22/04/2023)
I'm surprised to see that my previous bottle of this was drunk as long ago as 2017. It has not changed very much compared with my memory and TN of that bottle other than in the way of extra suavity and better integration of the cedar notes from the élevage. It is still an exemplar of a warm and generous vintage showing quite dark colour and open nose with aromas of of sweet red and dark fruit with faint hints of cedar. It was full/medium bodied on the palate with rich fruit enlivened by a touch of Médocain noble greenness, it replayed the aromas from the nose and showed decent depth, suave texture and appealing acidity with firm ripe tannins on the finish. Very good.
Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Beau-Site was one of my dad’s favorite wines. He bought a lot of it, and then ended up leaving a bunch in the cellar when he passed. I opened a 2000 yesterday, and it was correct but ultimately boring. It had lost its youthful fruit, and not gained any complexity. I still need to check in on the 2003 and 2005.

[David M. Bueker]

Tim - guess what I just found a stash of…2009 Beau-Site!

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon "The Montelena Estate", Chateau Montelena

Looking at this wine in the glass, you'd never guess that it is 20 years old. It has a very deep, translucent red-purple color. The aroma is an abundant, inviting mix of dark fruits, mainly blackcurrant. The flavors follow the aroma and exhibit both grace and power. Intense but not overwhelming. Tannins are fully resolved and the acidity is in perfect balance and carries the wine to a beautiful finish. This is an example of why Montelena has long been regarded as one of the top estates in Napa. I'd say this one is just coasting onto its plateau of maturity and it will give pleasure for many years to come. Double Curly Larry.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Very nice Paul. I am heading home from Virginia with two more cases of Montelena. Twelve assorted older bottles (back to the early 1980s) and six packs of 2014 and 2015. More next time as my mom said that Montelena is “not her thing.”

I organized her Insignia stash!

Here is another decent QPR bourgeios claret (previously c.€11 escalating to €12). This one is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot but, in this 2014 vintage, it very definitely has a left-bank character. Many Médoc châteaux seem to be increasing the proportion of Merlot in their blends, which seems odd at a time when climate change allows Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen more easily in the Bordeaux region.

2014 Château Ramafort - France, Bordeaux, Médoc (28/04/2023)
This is on the same level as the 2015 but in a different, more traditional style reminiscent of the 90s. It is less full and round, I think, but shows a more linear shape, greater freshness of fruit and overlaying fragrance coupled with a touch of noble green typical of the left bank leading the a firm finish with a discreet and elegantly crafted oak patina. Good+ and well worth buying more at c.€12.
Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Nice! There are so many bottles (probably close to 100) of relatively inexpensive, Cabernet-based Bordeaux in my dad’s cellar that are past their prime. It’s really sad, as most were likely very enjoyable drinks in their correct window.

[David M. Bueker]

It’s May, but I opened an April wine. Glad I did.

2019 Matthiasson Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/1/2023)
Though perhaps a bit more obviously fruity than prior vintages of this wine, there was a distinct savory element in the mid-palate and finish that kept pulling me back in for another sip. I had experienced a similar tone in Syrah and Mourvèdre, but never come across it in Cabernet Sauvignon to this extent. It was as if there had been an infusion of soy and mushroom where there might normally (for Napa) have been oak. I kept going back for more until I puzzled it out, as it was so unexpected I struggled to get my taste buds calibrated. Eventually my brain processed a kinship with Desire Lines and Winecoyeah, but in Cabernet. Quite an experience.