2003 Ch. De France 2003 was the year of the heat wave in France that killed a lot of people. The heat made for very dense grapes and thus the 2003 vintage is big and quite fruity. The 2003 Ch. De France is drinking nicely now, and shows good balance, and interesting structure along with its dense fruit. It is slightly “new world” and is not particularly “barnyardy,” making it a good “introduction to Bordeaux” and a crowd favorite.

2003 Bel-Air Ortet: In the quest for a reasonable Bordeaux for under $30 this is a great value. It is a little light but has a great nose of oak and hay and is fairly complex on the pallet. This wine got considerably better after it opened and was a great companion to steak.

2001 Clerc Milon: This wine is from the Mouton Rotschild family of wines and you can taste the subtle elegance of it’s pricer sibling. It has a beautiful nose with big fruit and soft barnyard and is a good buy in the under $60 range.

February 2008 Wine Review

’05 Las Rocas – Spain, Garnach - $18 – Yes, I sometimes venture beyond La Belle Hexagon to try wines from other regions, and this wine from Spain is a lovely effort for less than $20. There is a huge initial vanilla hit on the nose and pallet followed by black cherry in the background that lingers and is really lovely. I liked this wine because it is interesting and different and is a great change of pace.

I’ve been enjoying some great wines in the past couple of months and am thrilled to pass on to you the following recommendations.

1999 Lynch Bages
This is a classic big wine from one of the premier estates on the left bank of Bordeaux. While 1999 was not the strongest vintage to come out of Bordeaux in the last twenty years, it is nonetheless a solid vintage with wines that are ready to drink now.
This wine is absolutely stunning. It is a huge, complex wine that lingers on your pallet with flavors of black cherry, plum and soft terroir. It is pricy but worth it.

2000 Chateau Duhart-Milon

2000 & 2001 Ch. D’Armailhac

Since returning from my most recent trip to France, I have been enjoying several of the wines I selected for B&B’s French Wine Club which are fantastic. It is still not too late to get in on this year’s selections. You can visit our new web site for all the details at www.bandbsfrenchwineclub.com .

I have, however, also tasted a few wines that are available in North America that I want to recommend this month.

I am always amazed when I taste an old wine and it has developed into something almost magical. Three of the wines I recommend this month fit into that category. I don’t get to taste these wines very often, so I am grateful to my friend Bill Vandermarel for reaching into his cellar for me to enjoy these wines.

I spent eight days in France in March looking for wines for B&B’s French Wine Club. We tasted some amazing wines and were able to find some great ones for the club. You can read about it all on my blog of the trip at:

French Wine Club Blog

This month I have six great wines to recommend.

The first is a beautiful light and fruity 2004 Beaujolais Villages from Louis Jadot for $10. I find most of the Jadot selections rather plain and ordinary but this Beaujolais has nice light spice and is quite interesting, particularly for the price. Enjoy it with pasta or easy sipping on the patio as spring approaches.