Swig Tasting Note Superb for decanting and drinking now or for laying down for another 5 - 8 years I was served a stunning Petit Village Pomerol from 1998 - a domain with a fine reputation sandwiched between the great Vieux Chateau Certan and Chateau Petrus of the Pomerol district - in an Imperial (5L) bottle at a friend’s special birthday recently; the wine that reminded me of how good Bordeaux can be . There weren’t that many of us to drink such a large bottle, so I got a generous splash, and it left a real impression on me of what good right bank Bordeaux (in general terms that’s Pomerol and St Emilion) should taste like, and so tasting this sample so soon after was actually very helpful, as I had a benchmark. It could have been very harsh on the sample but I was very impressed. I took the bottle home and enjoyed it with some food and it was excellent. In fact the flavours were incredibly similar to the very grand Petit Village; with a lot of the flavour and silkiness of this fine Pomerol, with hints of game, graphite, a touch of cedar and lovely pure fruit. It's a very well poised wine; fine boned and precise, not big, and very well proportioned. You could say it is classically proportioned Bordeaux - put very pure - which is what you get from a top winemaker. The flavours developed over several days, suggesting that this is a wine that can not only be drunk now but one which will also age for about another 8 years. Serving
Decant this wine to let it breathe - you can do this any time up to drinking it – but even two or three hours in a decanter will allow it to open up and make it more expressive. Perfect with roast beef, steak, roast lamb, roast chicken chicken, and it will be very good with goose and turkey. It’s also good with pasta and you’ll find it is surprisingly good with fish. |