Prices for top bordeaux may be rising beyond the means of many of us (see Bordeaux 2018 – proto-prices), but there is real value to be found among less well known châteaux, particularly the crus bourgeois of the Médoc in the better vintages. As a result of a suggestion in our Members' forum, we are holding our first tasting event devoted to bordeaux. (Our tasting events are designed to showcase underdogs...) The aim is to examine the quality and ageing ability of hand-picked examples of relative bargains from the Médoc.
At our Cru Bourgeois Night, on Sunday 23 June, at Caravan, King’s Cross, London, there will be as many as 46 fine examples, young and old, available for tasting in Jancis's superior glasses (which you will have a chance to order at a discount on the night). £95 gets you all this, plus Caravan’s excellent food.
As Jancis and Julia discussed in The delights of the 2009 crus bourgeois, and Richard and Julia recently reaffirmed in 2016’s solid crus bourgeois, these around 270 properties, scattered the length of the Médoc, can offer good to very good, and always well-priced, examples of left-bank bordeaux. Though they are generally for drinking earlier than most crus classés, there is plenty of potential for ageing well-balanced wines from fully ripe vintages.
This walkaround, self-pour tasting, in our regular format, will feature 23 producers selected by Jancis. All of these leading châteaux regularly score in the 16–16.5 range, with some 17s in good vintages. We will have the opportunity to compare examples of the same wine from two vintages, one current and one mature, chosen by each producer.
The 23 châteaux confirmed are:
Haut-Médoc: Arnauld, Beaumont, Belle-Vue, Bernadotte, Cambon La Pelouse, Cissac, Labat, Lestage Simon, Malescasse, Retout, Reysson, Tour du Haut-Moulin
Margaux: Deyrem Valentin, Paveil de Luze, La Tour de Mons
Listrac: Fonréaud, Fourcas-Borie
Pauillac: La Fleur Peyrabon
St-Estèphe: Le Boscq, Le Crock, Petit Bocq
Médoc: Tour Haut-Caussan, Vieux Robin
We are very grateful indeed to the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc and their representatives who are kindly assembling and shipping the wines, and of course to the producers for digging into their libraries for us. As usual, any surplus funds from the evening will be donated to a charity chosen by the producers.
Tickets are non-refundable but we may be able to put you in touch with someone on our waiting list.
WHAT A comparison of red bordeaux from 23 cru bourgeois châteaux in pairs: one from a recent vintage and one from an older vintage
WHEN 6.30–9 pm Sunday 23 June 2019
WHERE Caravan, King's Cross, Granary Square, London N1C 4AA
HOW MUCH £95 per ticket
HOW Click here
