Thursday 28 November 2013

1996 La Croix de Chene Pomerol Red Bordeaux

We bought this wine in France, but I cannot remember where or when or how much we paid. The wine was perfect and fully mature, the tannin was nice and soft and there was a strong aroma of red fruits and plums on the nose. The wine tasted the same as the aroma. The flavours were concentrated and complex and the flavour remained on the palate for a long time after swallowing. It had all the hallmarks of a very good wine.

Another mark of a good wine is its ability to improve in the bottle. This wine has been in the bottle for 15 years. A cheap wine will not improve in the bottle for more than a few years. The wine was perfectly mature and all the components of the wine; the acidity, alcohol and tannin were well integrated  and the wine was medium to full body. It was ready to drink now and will not improve for any longer.

It went perfectly with roast chicken one night and the other half of the bottle went well with roast pork the following evening. This is the reason why I love wine so much as you can find a really good bottle for a reasonable price if you take the time to study the subject a little bit.

If you find this wine in France then do not hesitate to buy it and kept it in a cool dark place for a few years on its side. It won't break the bank and will give you a good idea of what a top wine is all about.

A top Bordeaux such as Château Latour or Château Lafite-Rothschild will keep and improve in the bottle for much longer and this is one of the reasons why it is so much more expensive than La Croix de Chene. However, you are mainly paying for the brand name and some of their lesser cousins are just as good and a lot cheaper.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=635297

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