2014 Bordeaux PART V, Saint-Estèphe

This Saturday we will be continuing our tasting series of the excellent 2014 vintage in Bordeaux. Our fifth shipment takes us to the northernmost of the great “Left Bank” appellations, Saint-Estèphe. These are the classic Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends that put Bordeaux on the map centuries ago, from classified “Second-Growth” wine to an everyday “Cru Bourgeois.”

Because of the warm autumn in the 2014 vintage there have been claims that declare it a Left Bank vintage, thanks to the later ripening qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon versus the earlier ripening Merlot. Taste for yourself, we’ll have an assortment of these wines open to taste this Saturday. All prices are based on the purchase of six or more bottles.

Although Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate ratings don’t factor into how we select the wines we carry, we do understand that many drinkers find them useful. You’ll see the ratings for the 2014 vintage of each wine following the text.

~$23 Château Lilian Ladouys
Classified Cru Bourgeois. Jacky and Françoise Lorenzetti acquired the estate in 2008. They quickly launched a vast re-parceling program and constructed a new semi-underground vat house. (90)

~$32 Château Meyney SOLD OUT
With the consultation of Hubert de Boüard of Château Angélus the 2014 vintage of Chateau Meyney is quite possibly the best wine produced in the history of the estate. (90)

$34 Château Les Ormes-de-Pez SOLD OUT
One of nine “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels” as classified in 2003. Owned by the Cazes family, who are also well known from their more famous Pauillac estate, Château Lynch-Bages. (89)

~$41 Château Lafon-Rochet
Since purchase in the late 1950s by the Tesseron family, this classified “Fourth-Growth” estate has continually improved. Today, it’s Basile Tesseron continuing the focus on quality. (90)

~$43 Château Phélan Ségur
One of nine “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels” as classified in 2003. In 2011 the estate finished extensive renovations in their wine making facilities and cellars, shifting to smaller stainless steel fermentation vats that allow for more precise vinification on a parcel by parcel basis. (91)

$119 Château Calon-Ségur
Classified “Third-Growth” estate. Very recent renovations allowing vinification on a parcel by parcel basis and a completely new, 100% gravity-fed vat room illustrate the commitment to quality at Calon-Ségur. (92)

~$49  Les Pagodes de Cos (second wine of Château Cos d’Estournel) (90)
$153 Château Cos d’Estournel (94)
Classified “Second-Growth” estate. Cos d’Estournel’s recently renovated world-class cellars are operated entirely by gravity to allow for pure and complete expression of their extraordinary terroir adjacent to Château Lafite-Rothschild.

$187 Château Montrose
Classified “Second-Growth” estate. One of the leading properties of St.Estéphe that produces some of the longest-lived wines in the Médoc. Recent multi-million dollar renovations make Château Montrose not only one of the most modern estates in the world but also one of the most sustainable. (96)

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Posted on 2017.06.15 in France, Bordeaux, Saturday Sips Wines