Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe 2004
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Blend: 52% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Côt
The 2004 vintage has a lovely dense, deep red color. The nose is very fruit-forward, with lush red fruits on the nose mixing with hints of spice and toastiness. The wine is lively on the palate, with all the verve and structure that great St. Estèphes are known for. The tannins still have quite a rasp, but they are surrounded by enough flesh and fat to sustain an impression of fullness. The wine shows harmoniously as it evolves, tinged with toasty notes of wood and ripe red fruit. The vintage has all the class and refinement of a true St. Estèphe.
Other Vintages
2009-
Suckling
James
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One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.