2013 Chateau Aney
Haut-Medoc
Cru Bourgeois
Regular Price $21.99
Sale Price $16.99
At the risk of getting myself in trouble (yet) again, I have to admit that I’ve never really been a fan of Bordeaux. I know in some corners, that’s heresy; I mean, the wines from Bordeaux are alleged to be among the finest wines produced anywhere. Ask the critics, who fall to their knees to genuflect at the altar of Bordeaux. Ask the merchants, who solemnly tell you that because it’s yet another vintage of the century (how many is that now?), you absolutely must take out a second mortgage and buy 1st Growths as an ‘investment’. And of course, ask the Bordelaise, who offer a Gallic shrug while intoning, ‘but, of course’.
Now, it’s not like the wines suck.. At the top of the market they are rich, and full and seamless and rather dull. At the bottom, green and dirty and very dull. And in the middle, usually, fine, solid, well-made…and dull. Drinking Bordeaux, to me, has always been like kissing your sister.
So, why, you might ask, is this mid-priced, good-but-not-great vintage, Cabernet-driven wine my favorite (this week, anyway)?
Bordeauxs are, I think, an ideal, as much as a wine. They represent aspiration; we want to both love and afford the wines. We want to have the patience to wait for that precise moment when they are ‘mature’, have the wisdom to know when that is, and the ‘palate’ to appreciate it. What we really want from Bordeaux are wines make us feel good about ourselves.
This is not a wine like that. Its classic Bordeaux, not over-ripe, not doused with oak flavor, not overwhelmed with extracted tannins. Its balanced and subtle with finesse and polish. Its drinking wonderfully now and, perhaps, will age well, but seriously, just drink the stuff.
The wine tastes of classic Bordeaux flavors like graphite and black fruit and maybe some violet and isn’t massive or hedonistic, which, frankly, is a good thing. But the favors stay around, not overwhelming food (or you), but rather enhancing it. Eat anything that you like with this wine (alright, so not oysters or goat cheese. Or brie). It’s, I think, what Bordeaux used to taste like before it became BORDEAUX, and became the wine of our hopes and dreams rather than the wine in our glass that tastes really quite good.