Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/898117
BLIND TASTING REPORT november 2017 / the tasting panel / 93 DEPARTMENT HEADER Dan Bailey jokes with Jared Hooper after the Château Cap L'Ousteau reveal. Tasting Notes On the nose, fresh notes of blackberry and plums. Aromas are bountiful yet slow to present them- selves. On the palate, tart and dry. Grippy tannins full of cranberry and red cherry. Lean and mean! —Jesus Evangelista Definitely a Bordeaux variety; old-school, tannic, balanced, and light on its feet. More tannin than red fruit here. Low alcohol takes me to the Right Bank Bordeaux. —Rick Arline Not about the fruit; forest floor, saddle leather, tar, and coals off the grill. Smacking tannins with fine Old-World acidity. Finishes with a dry mouthfeel but designed for food! —Meridith May Made from younger vines grown on 45 hectares (112 acres) of Château du Cartillon's estate, Château Cap L'Ousteau is the winery's second label. The blend consists of 62% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot from vines that are 21 years old on average. The wine is fermented in thermoregu- lated, stainless-steel vats. If the best of the Haut-Médoc AOP comes from gravely soils, the vines of Château Cap L'Ousteau in Lamarque within the Haut- Médoc's Moulis are indeed the best of the area. The vines of Château Cap L'Ousteau grow on two hilltops consisting of a substantial layer of gravel, along with some sand and clay. The SOMM Journal's own VP/Sales & Marketing Bill Brandel presented the wine. "Les Grands Chais de France imports French wines. [In addition to France, Les Grands Chais de France also exports wine from other countries all over the world, including the U.S.] They've been buying up a lot of properties over the last 20 years too, and this is a particu- lar Bordeaux property that they purchased about ten years ago," he explained. "They've been taking these existing facilities, building them up, and refurbishing the vineyards—cre- ating a much higher quality Bordeaux, but still doing it at a great value." Château Cap L'Ousteau GRANDE RESERVE, HAUT-MÉDOC