Three of the big hitters from the SuperValu French Wine Sale are from, of course, Bordeaux. Here are my notes – and catch them while you can!
Lady de Mour Margaux 2022
Lady de Mour is one of the leading “Brand” wines from the De Mour group, that is, wines which are not from estates that they own themselves. I have previously reviewed both the 2016 vintage and the 2018 vintage, and now we turn to the excellent 2022 vintage.
Margaux is of course one of the top four communes of the Médoc peninsula, home to many of the renowned Grands Crus Classés. Wines made here tend to be a little softer and more generous than those made in the northerly communes. A big part of this is the slightly higher proportion of Merlot compared to the others. Lady de Mour is perfectly aligned in that respect with a stated blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. I suspect that in warm years such as 2022 that might be skewed slightly more towards Cab Sauv, but I don’t have a laboratory to do my own tests!
The aromas include lifted notes of black and red fruits, spice, vanilla, cedar – even the nose is intoxicating!
On the palate there are gentle round fruits: blackberry, blackcurrant and loganberry, with a little crumbly milk chocolate. Although from a warm year this is a young wine so there’s some tannic grip on the finish. If you have a decanter, or even a glass jug, use that to get the best out of this wine now. It’s drinking nicely but will go for at least another decade if stored well
- ABV: 13.5%
- RRP: €37.99 down to €25.00
- Source: sample
- Stockists: SuperValu stores and supervalu.ie
Château Tour Baladoz Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2021
Tour Baladoz is another wine from the De Mour group, but this time one of their own châteaux, and from the celebrated Saint-Émilion on the right bank of the Gironde.
This vintage is the final year before the wine can be labelled as Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, a higher rung in the Saint-Émilion classification system. 2021 was a modest vintage for both left bank and right bank Bordeaux reds (given 7/10 by The wine Society), but as always that is a high level
This is an unusual property in being planted with all six of Bordeaux’s traditional black grapes: Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (14%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%), Petit Verdot, Malbec (2%) and Carménère (1%). The soils are a mix of clay and limestone and extend over 8 hectares. All harvesting is by hand and fermentation takes place in both concrete and stainless steel vessels. Maturation is for around 18 months in a mix of new (60%) and used (40%) French oak barrels.
In the glass it has a ruby red rim showing its youth. The nose has concentrated black and fruits, leather, cedar and a lick of vanilla.
The palate is smooth, fruity and supple, yet packing a punch. The fruit notes are offset by black olive and liquorice on the finish, with lashings of tannin. Decant and serve with rare ribeye.
- ABV: 13.5%
- RRP: €45 down to €30
- Source: sample
- Stockists: SuperValu stores and supervalu.ie
Château Ormes de Pez St Estèphe 2017
Saint-Estèphe is the most northerly of the top four Médoc communes. It isn’t graced with many Grands Crus Classés, but it does have a good number of wines in the next rung down. Ormes de Pez is owned by the J-M Cazes family, famous for their stewardship of Pauillac’s Château Lynch-Bages, though they actually bought Ormes de Pez in 1930, eight years before purchasing the latter.
Like 2021, the 2017 vintage was also rated 7/10 by The Wine Society (which probably accounts for why SuperValu were able to get hold of stocks that they could sell at such a great price), but that just means that the wines are ready to drink younger and don’t have to be laid down for decades. The blend for this wine is typical of the Haut-Médoc with Cabernet Sauvignon (42%), Merlot (51%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Petit Verdot (1%).
In the glass the wine is fairly deep in colour, but not opaque. The rim is garnet in colour which suggests some maturity. The nose is highly perfumed, with red and black cherries, blueberries, blackberries and some cedar.
The palate is overall fruity yet dry, and somewhat weighty. Those cherries and berries come though in the mouth, though they are a little muddled now rather than fresh, yet still not dried. Violets and liquorice complete the picture. The alcohol is a little above the norm for the left bank at 13.5% giving it a little headiness. Fine grained tannins and acidity make for a fresh, savoury finish.
- ABV: 13.5%
- RRP: €45 down to €20
- Source: sample
- Stockists: SuperValu stores (very limited availability)
