From €12.50, 15.50 Swiss francs, CA$25.40, 1,387 roubles, $26.95, HK$240, 115.90 Brazilian real, £90 per case of 12 ib
On Tuesday I published Underrated Ch Reynon, an article about the wine estate on which world-famous wine scientist Professor Denis Dubourdieu lives with his wife Florence. As you can see, Château Reynon is a handsome building but in wine terms its location, while pretty, is far from Bordeaux’s smartest. The vineyard leads down to the Garonne river in the area that until 2009 was known as the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux but is now the Cadillac bit of the collection of appellations known as the Côtes de Bordeaux (which is very confusing for old hands like me for whom Cadillac used to be a sweet white).
One thread on our Members’ forum currently addresses the dismal fact that, although the most famous wines of Bordeaux may be achieving stratospheric prices, life is very tough indeed further down the ladder. The ridiculously low prices given at the top of this article show just how inexpensive the top wine of Ch Reynon is, its red grand vin.
Ch Reynon 2010 Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux was the star of a vertical tasting of this wine I undertook earlier this year, from 1986 to 2012. (Incidentally, my tastings in Bordeaux last week confirmed that 2012 is definitely the best of the trio 2011, 2012 and 2013.) I gave it a massive 17.5 points out of 20 and marked it VGV for ‘very good value’. I can already hear the squeals of protest from members who question whether it could possibly be as good as the host of much grander 2010s I have given that same score to. Admittedly I have not tasted it alongside, for example, Angélus, but I would be very surprised if many tasters would get at all close to guessing Ch Reynon 2010's price if they tasted it blind.
This is a very sophisticated wine that should ideally be kept for another three years or so before drinking and I think it should last for many a long year. It is very much more successful than the 2009, for example, in this case, and may have been given extra stuffing by the coulure that affected some of the Merlot, the dominant grape variety constituting up to 90% of the blend usually. The rest is Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot, of which the Dubourdieus are big fans. This wine offers a great combination of freshness and intensity with a lightly minty top note on a solid, rich palate that just goes on and on. Alcohol content on the label is 14% and, as you can see, the wine is available all over the world – particularly but by no means exclusively in Europe.
The Wine Society have been buying Ch Reynon of both colours for many a year, have already sold most of their allocation of Ch Reynon 2010 grand vin, and are currently offering the second wine Le Clos de Reynon 2010 Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux for £10.95. It’s made from the vines at the sandier bottom of the slope so is much more accessible than the grand vin. I really enjoyed tasting this lovely round wine after the vertical with Denis and Fabrice Dubourdieu as well as Ewan Murray and Sebastian Payne MW of The Wine Society.
When looking at Wine-searcher’s list of stocksts via the link below, be warned that a clear distinction is not always made between red and white Ch Reynon. The dry white is as respectable as one would expect of a wine made by the man viewed as Bordeaux's white-wine guru but is not such stunning value as the red in the best vintages. Tant pis for the Dubourdieus and all those on the lower rungs of the Bordeaux ladder.