Haut Médoc Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux France
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot
Château Caronne Ste Gemme dates back to the mid 17th Century. The estate has been owned and guided by the Borie-Nony family since 1900. The 94 acre estate (45 planted to vineyards) lies on the southwest border of Saint-Julien, a stone’s throw from classified growths Châteaux Gruaud Larose and Lagrange. Many Bordeaux insiders consider the wines of Caronne Ste Gemme’s to regularly match the quality from these higher classified neighbours and to be among the best values in Bordeaux today.
Over the past decade the Nony family have invested considerable resources to give the estate the state-of-the-art winery, equipment, and barrels necessary to produce these top level wines.
2010 was a great vintage in Bordeaux, one of the top half dozen in the past 30 years. They tend to berich, ripe wines with splendid aromatic complexity and energy. They possess an added measure of concentration owing to the low crop levels following a difficult flowering. The berries were small, as were the number of grapes per bunch, and the high skin-to-juice ratio helps to explain the concentration and power of the 2010s. This is a vintage to stock up on.
The 2010 vintage from Caronne Ste Gemme spent15 months in oak (20 % new) however it is the fruit that shines through in the wine.It has aromas of plums, black cherries and minerals, with the unmistakeable tobacco or cigar box characters framing these black fruits. It is full bodied with velvety tannins that are polished and clean. An impressive wine that showcases what a good producer can achieve in a great vintage. You do not need to spend $150 to get this type of quality. But you need to know where to look. (This wine has a RRP of $55 in Australia).