#ducru

Chateaux D'Issan

D'Issan should be everyone's first Bordeaux Chateaux purely for the atmosphere.  A wet moat, turreted walls, and an evocative house layered with centuries of home improvement set the stage for a charming visit. 

On this day our tour guide, Bruno, and D'Issan's host Celine seemed almost more interested in flirting with each ozergh than in talking about the chateau and its history, but we had several hours here, so there was no rush.  

D'Issan was once an underrated wine that is now taking full advantage of its Margaux 3ieme classed growth designation to charge high prices for very good but not inspired wines.  I think I insulted our host when, upon playing "guess the vintage" with her I arrogantly asserted that the wine had to be a 2007 because it seemed a bit disjointed.  It was a 2009, actually, with an overblown score in the mid 90's by Parker and Spectator.  OK,  granted, it was young and had not even taken a breath yet, but the 2006 second wine of Chateau Poujeaux that I had with last night's steak was much more interesting and only 30 bucks...in a restaurant.  D'Issan wants over $80 for their 2009.  I'll stick with the $43 2008.

The wine itself is made in a manner combining modern and timeless with stainless steel tanks the rule in the fermentation room.  Down in the cool, dark barrel room a couple of greasy-haired lackeys rack wine out of each barrel into a bucket while using a candle to check for clarity.  It could have been 1855 if the bucket hadn't been plastic. 

If I wasn't standing in a 600 year-old castle I might not have given this wine much thought, but, in fact I was, so I did. The 2009 Chateau D'issan showed a floral nose with some tobacco.  It took a while  to open up, as usual, and in doing so offered cherry jam with a spicy finish and a touch of heat.  The soft tannins gave this wine a lovely texture.  We did not have an opportunity to taste their second wine or their unclassified Medoc juice.  

Branaire-Ducru

Heading up the Gironde with Moulis and Listrac somewhere over the horizon on the left, the Rive Gauche began to feel a bit more like wine country.  In contrast with the behemoths in Margaux, small producers on unclassified Medoc soil offered free tastings and direct sales (quel horreur!) We soon regained the high ground, pulled into a low, walled compound, and stepped out of the car onto an interesting piece of  land.  

Branaire isn't the best chateau in St. Julien but you can see it from there; one of the Leovilles is off in the distance behind a rood screen of poplars. The estate vineyards themselves share borders with Beychevelle and St. Pierre, and it was in these vineyards that I learned something quite interesting about Bordeaux.  You see, vineyards aren't always as they seem and this one was a bit of a hodgepodge. They claim to be planted to 74% Cabernet Sauvigon, 22% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, but even our host could not tell the vines apart.  She explained that when most of the vines were re-planted a half century ago they didn't always know how to identify them and so the vineyards ended up a mixed bag.  

"You can tell a Merlot vine from a Cabernet vine by the color of the young leaves," explained Bruno.  "Cabernet is reddish color and Merlot is white." In the row we walked there was no rhyme or reason to the planting, with Merlot and Cabernet planted at seemingly random intervals. Our host explained that they don't sort the grapes by variety during the harvest so they all end up fermenting together.  Though each vine was tagged with a colored band to indicate its variety,  I noticed several that were mislabeled in just one row, so the numbers are indeed rough.   That's a true field blend for you.

The grapes for Brainare wines get a light crush which keeps some of the berries in each cluster whole.  The primary is in stainless with cooling coils built-in, and the fermented wine is pumped off to concrete vats for the malolactic, which is done by native bacteria and a bit of prayer.  The oak treatment on the grand vin is 55% new for 24 months. Our host gave us the opportunity to sample both their first and second wines, which was quite a surprise.  

Duluc is the second wine of the estate, chosen not based on vineyard parcel or grape selection, but on the quality of the wine coming out of the secondary.  The 2004 we sampled showed a mix of floral and smoke overtones in the nose, with a fresh, vibrant and silky mouthfeel.  Fruit on the palate is lovely candied cherry  with barrel notes of caramel leading into a light dry finish.  This wine sings of the storied elegance and balance typical of St. Julien.  It is a hard wine to find, however, and usually ends up in restaurants long before the public gets its hands on it.

Now its time to dance with the prom queen.  Branaire Ducru is a 4ieme classed cru that is still very affordable in non-hyped years.  The 2006 we tried comes from a very good vintage that many described at the time as a deliberate gouge coming off the fantastic 2005.  I don't see it.  While the 2009 and 10 retail for $70 and up, the 2006-8 can be had for $50.00.  It wouldn't be St. Julien without a lovely, complex floral nose, and this delivers with incredibly pure cassis underneath.  Cassis is black currant liqueur and Branaire soaks your palate with it upon opening.  There is also a refreshing mineral or graphite sensation on the finish from some low-level acidity.  Later, as it breathes a bit, the barrel notes show nicely as do waves of blueberries and a brambly caramel finish. 

Bruno likes these wineries for their classic style, declaring that "too many Bordeaux wineries are selling out to New-World tastes".  This isn't old-world palate cleanser by any means, however, Branaire Ducru exemplifies the delicate and complex balance that fine Bordeaux wines maintain while still being deeply satisfying at their core.