The Wines of St. Estephe

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St. Estephe is the farthest north of the four great wine producing communal areas of the Haut Medoc region north of Bordeaux. It lies along the Gironde River, a pleasant drive from the city. Looking down on the Gironde from one of these fine wine estates, I can’t help remembering the heroic British commando teams that went down the same river by kayak to wreak sabotage against the Nazi shipyards in Bordeaux, a feat remembered in the film “The Cockleshell Heroes.” This area is quite different from neighboring Pauillac to the south. It has less gravel, and more clay. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rainfall were also more sparing. The result are rich wines, quite tannic, that take a longer time to reach their peak than many of their neighbors to the south. It is home to just five of the classified growths of the Medoc from the 1855 ranking. Everyone first notices the celebrated gates of Chateau Cos d’Estournel, said to have come from a palace in Zanzibar. Cos d’Estournel, just over the Pauillac border in St. Estephe on the Gironde side of the road, has long been considered a “super second,” a second growth of the 1855 Classification that might be upgraded if that ranking were ever revised.  During his years as President of the Classified Growths of the Medoc the owner of Chateau Cos d’Estournel, Bruno Prats, was a champion of maintaining the existing classification. I remember Bruno once arguing persuasively, in response to a question that I put to him at dinner, that a new classification would be a nightmare that would end by satisfying nobody. It was far better to encourage sounder wine production by the existing membership, Bruno would say, which with few exceptions still represented the best wines of the Medoc. Bruno Prats has now sold his property, but the excellence of Cos d’Estournel shows that he and his successors practice what he preached. (Futures for their 2000 vintage are $441 for 6 bottles.) It is a long lasting wine, slow to mature, which Bruno said should be cellared for 12 years, or 20 for a magnum. Overlooking the Gironde River on a sloping hillside is St.Estephe’s other second growth, Chateau Montrose (named for flowers that once grew there). This wine was long known in London as “the poor man’s Chateau Latour.” I recall enjoying a magnum of the 1981 at a 1996 dinner. The 15 year old wine was rich, and stunning in its complexity. Now that Chateau Montrose has been rediscovered by wine columnists, its price is quite high enough that such comparisons are unnecessary ($354 for 6 bottles at the 2000 vintage futures pricing). However, this is a superior wine that, like Latour, amply rewards careful cellaring. Its owner, Jean-Louis Charmolue, is a gracious host who seeks to make the finest wine, and often succeeds. The northernmost classified wine, and one of the best, is the third growth Chateau Calon-Segur. The name Segur refers to an eighteenth century owner, who was fondest of this property although he owned Lafite and Latour as well! The word Calon is said to refer to a sort of dugout canoe, which used to be used on the river. Calon-Segur holds the distinction of never having altered its wine property since the 1855 Classification. Every other classified property has done that, it is said, some having enlarged their original property many times. (Laws and regulations vary from region to region. Michel Becot in St. Emilion lost his first growth standing for a number of years in the St. Emilion classification for adding acreage to his property, Chateau Beausejour Becot, something that is commonplace in the Medoc.) It is a source of some regret at Calon-Segur that the 1855 Classification was surveyed at the precise moment when their property was not producing its best wines. Also, they remain annoyed that just before the ranking, the owner of the time had sold off what became the higher ranking Chateau Montrose! (The 2000 Calon-Segur has received enthusiastic ratings, and now sells for $354 for 6 bottles.) I have not personally visited the other two classified St. Estephe growths, the fourth growth Chateau Lafon-Rochet and the fifth growth Chateau Cos Labory. They have had their ups and downs in the past, but may be improving now, if current price guides may be trusted. I’d like to hear from readers who have tried these wines. Perhaps to make up for the small number of St. Estephe wines from the 1855 Classification, there is a rich of choice of other, classified cru bourgeois wines of fine quality. The traveler would do well to pick up a mixed half dozen thoroughly enjoyable wines at reasonable prices. Chateaux de Pez, Haut Marbuzet, Marbuzet, MacCarthy, and Meyney come readily to mind. Chateau Marbuzet, on a fine hillside location overlooking the Gironde River, is a rather elegant wine, whose reasonable price (under $10 at my retailer) means it needn’t be saved for special occasions. Take a close look at the label. It’s rather startling, but it isn’t the White House! The owners like to joke that the White House was copied from Chateau Marbuzet’s architecture. They would have a point, but the timing is wrong.However, an older residential chateau, the Chateau de Rastignac in the Dordogne, is startlingly like 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue which is of the same period. In fact a case has been made that it furnished the architectural inspiration for the planners of the White House. It’s probably a safe bet that the design for Chateau Marbuzet was adapted from Chateau de Rastignac. I don’t like keeping a good wine to myself, so I’ll write again about Chateau Meyney. It has a fine location on a high point of St. Estephe overlooking the Gironde River. Once found, it is one of those locations that you will recall upon returning home from France, the memory of which will enhance your enjoyment of the wine. In common with other wines from St. Estephe, Chateau Meyney tends to be a…
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