Grape Wine Journey

Cadet reporting to Madam, finally!

I have urged Cadet to write about his experience for some time, it was a surprise that he finally grant me the honor when I was least expected. 

The wine that I raved about upon my return from Bordeaux ….. 

I was reading the Wine Spectator before dinner over the weekend, and there was an article on Chateau Pontet Canet. It brought back memories of my visit at the Chateau this summer.  After the tour, Monsieur Alfred Tesseron greeted us with a warm smile and joined us for lunch in the main dining hall. 

He served 2001 and 2003 vintages at lunch. He told us 2001 vintage was a good vintage and it was as good as 2000.   After the vacation, I came home and bought a case of the 2001 vintage directly from France.   

Chateau Pontet Canet is one of the fifth growths in Bordeaux.  In the article, Monsieur Alfred Tesseron talked about his aspiration to produce wine as close to the quality of his neighbors in Pauillac – Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Latour.  

He said: “We are a fifth-growth surrounded by first-growths, so we have to do better. We want to get as close as we can to the quality of our neighbors.”

After reading the article we decided to open our first bottle from the cellar.  We took the advice from Hugh Johnson and decant the wine for 1 hour prior to serving.  Now what would pair well with the full bodied red? 

We always like to stock up Chinese sausage from the famous Chinese restaurant “Yung Kee”.  The sausage was stuffed with goose liver marinated in Chinese rose wine.  My husband pan fried the sausage until the skin was crispy.   

After the hour, we poured the wine into our wine glass.  The wine showed blackcurrant, leather, and vanilla on the nose.  On the palate, it showed cherry, dark chocolate and vanilla.  The finish was long.   The tannin softened after pairing with the Chinese sausage.  It was a very complex wine, as the evening went, the wine started to develop cinnamon and cream on the palate.

The wine is a reflection of Monsieur Alfred Tessron’s aspiration.  It is a high quality complex wine, and no less than his neighbors in Pauillac.  The most important thing – the wine is only a fraction of the price of his neighbors!