Chateau Maucaillou Le Bordeaux 2012
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Wong
Wilfred
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of my hopes and dreams in the global wine world is fine a Bordeaux Sup (Supérieur) that I can count on. Over the years the Le Bordeaux de Maucaillou has been there for me. I don't always recall where I have the wine, perhaps a dingy bistro in Bordeaux, Paris or London? I could even happen on a cool night in my hometown of San Francisco, but whenever I have had this wine it has been good. The 2012 is quite pleasing. Deep ruby color; pretty ripe fruit aroma of the red currant side; medium bodied, soft and deliverable on the palate; bright red fruit flavors, active in the aftertaste. I could have this one with roast pork in a hometown Chinatown dive café. (Tasted: November 17, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
The family chose the location near the station because horse-drawn carriages had only a short distance to cover to load their wines on trains travelling to destinations throughout Europe. As Messrs Petit Laroche put it at the time: "The purpose of the Entrepôts de Moulis Company is to market, both in Bordeaux and abroad, Médoc wines stored in cellars built by the company opposite Moulis station, a central location between Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe."
Given the organoleptic qualities of Chateau Maucaillou, many wine writers have compared it with the Grand Cru Classé wines of the Médoc: "This growth has constantly enhanced its quality and is today undeniably at the level of a (good) cru classé" (Didier TERS).
In most of France, wines are named by their place of origin and not by the type of grape (with the exception of Alsace). Just like a red Burgundy is by law, always made of Pinot noir, a red Bordeaux is a blended wine composed mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Depending on the laws of the village from which the grapes come, the conditions of the vintage and decisions of the winemaker, the blend can be further supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and in rare cases, Carmenere. So popular and repeated has this mix of grape varieties become worldwide, that the term, Bordeaux Blend, refers to a wine blended in this style, regardless of origin.