Chateau Cote Montpezat Cuvee Compostelle – More Budget Bordeaux

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from Castillon, Cotes de Bordeaux, France.

SRP of $20 and available for as low as $16. Sample received courtesy Bordeaux Wine Council for review purposes.

From the winery:

“The Compostelle range is the perfect companion for haute cuisine, with a commitment to wine storage that develops more complexity.

These wines are made with grapes from a careful plot selection, harvested by hand. These pre-selected wines receive care in terms of increased thinning and selective de-budding. The average age of the vines is over 30 years. The maturity levels are followed by tasting the grapes.

These wines are under special care at maturation level. We chose to do so with barrels of wine from Bordeaux properties that demonstrate a strong commitment to their choice of wood and coopers (Laffite Rothschild, Smith Haut Lafitte, Pope Clement for red, and Château d’Yquem for white wine). A rigorous breeding selection is conducted to reveal the richness of the juices without creating outrageously woody notes.

These wines show the potential of our region to match the best appellations. Selected by many gourmet restaurants and sommeliers these bottles will accompany all of your festive meetings.

14.5% Alcohol”

Cotes de Bordeaux is a relatively new appellation in the Bordeaux region of France having been created just a few years ago from four existing appellations. Today it accounts for 14% of the total production of Bordeaux wines.

Essentially four different appellations in Bordeaux decided to band together to market their wines, rightly assuming there is strength in numbers. All of these regions are on the outskirts of Bordeaux and as such tended to be overshadowed by the more famous regions and producers within the area. Lucky for us they also tend to have more modest prices which makes Cotes de Bordeaux a perfect spot for Reverse Wine Snobs!

The 2009 Chateau Cote Montpezat Cuvee Compostelle begins with a very nice aroma of blackberry, raspberry, plum, vanilla and a little dark chocolate. The wine tastes of lots of oaky and toasty spice, dark ripe fruit and a bit of vanilla. Give it some some time to open up and the oakiness subsides revealing quite a nice wine. This medium- to full-bodied wine also has a good velvety texture with chewy tannins. It ends dry and spicy with lingering tobacco and coffee notes.

Also check out our post on Budget Bordeaux – Six Bordeaux Wines For $10 or Less.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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