The new French Revolution is coming – prepare your palate

The more vocal châteaux, from the less starry communes of Bordeaux, are finding their voices, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
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2014 Chteau Mazeris, Canon Fronsac, Bordeaux, France £17, Oddbins

There are more than 8,000 chteaux in the mighty Bordeaux region and, because they make a few wines each, the number of different labels available is immense. We tend to concentrate on the big names, at the top of the metaphorical mountain my annual Bordeaux En Primeur Report features around 350 of these, so this is shy of 5% of the total!

The petit chteaux, as the others are known, are anything but. Many are serious properties with many generations of experience and ancient terroir. The New French Revolution is coming and it is the more vocal chteaux, from less starry communes, who are finding their voices.

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Mazeris has been owned by the de Cournuaud family for nine generations and it is a beautifully situated estate with 19 hectares of epic vineyards. Situated in the wider Fronsac appellation, some four miles northwest of Pomerol, I am falling for the wines from this region and, with value at the forefront of my mind, it is hard to overlook the sheer quality and impact of these wines.

Made from 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc, with the perfect amount of oak employed, this is a beautifully silky and balanced wine with a flavour that you would associate with a much pricier label. I have tasted the 2015 vintage too, and it is another cracker. Put this thoroughbred in your cellar and you will be sure to revel in its splendour.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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