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Clos Sainte Anne Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 2014

Clos Sainte Anne Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 2014

Red Wine from France - Bordeaux

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Code: CB5931

Wine characteristics

Red Wine
Medium-bodied
Merlot
Drinking now
13% Alcohol
oak used but not v. noticeable
Cork, natural

Bourg, Blaye, 1er Cotes

The best growers in the less-fashionable regions of the satellite appellations Blaye, Bourg, and the old Premières Côtes have to work that bit harder to get their wines known and the quality is often exceedingly high while the prices remain sensible.

Blaye is the northernmost of these satellites, named after the town of Blaye (pronounced â€˜Blyâ€™), which sits on the varied soils of the right-hand shore of the great Gironde estuary. Merlot dominates and the majority of the wines are soft and easy-drinking, balanced and flavourful, but without the dominance of new oak. The wines are usually ready to drink much sooner than those of neighbouring Bourg.

Côtes de Bourg is a smaller region south of Blaye, where the Dordogne joins the Garonne to become the Gironde. The soils here are more homogenously clay with limestone and the wines, though still generally merlot dominated, are more robust with delectable tannins, and they benefit from a little more time in bottle as a result. They can...

The best growers in the less-fashionable regions of the satellite appellations Blaye, Bourg, and the old Premières Côtes have to work that bit harder to get their wines known and the quality is often exceedingly high while the prices remain sensible.

Blaye is the northernmost of these satellites, named after the town of Blaye (pronounced â€˜Blyâ€™), which sits on the varied soils of the right-hand shore of the great Gironde estuary. Merlot dominates and the majority of the wines are soft and easy-drinking, balanced and flavourful, but without the dominance of new oak. The wines are usually ready to drink much sooner than those of neighbouring Bourg.

Côtes de Bourg is a smaller region south of Blaye, where the Dordogne joins the Garonne to become the Gironde. The soils here are more homogenously clay with limestone and the wines, though still generally merlot dominated, are more robust with delectable tannins, and they benefit from a little more time in bottle as a result. They can develop extremely well with short to mid-term cellaring.

Before the draining of the marshes of the Médoc in the 17th century it was these areas that provided a good deal of the wine exported to Britain.

Castillon adjoins Saint-Emilion to the east along the Dordogne and inland to the north. It is developing a good reputation for its wines and several prestigious producers from neighbouring appellations have invested a good deal to make wine here and too very good effect alongside a number of excellent locals such as Château de Pitray. Merlot again dominates on a mixture of soils from clay to sand and gravel, though cabernet sauvignon is also has a presence.

A wider umbrella appellation controlee called simply Côtes de Bordeaux identifies special terroirs, which includes Blaye and Castillon with one or two others on the banks of the two rivers Garonne and Dordogne. The vast majority of production is red, made mostly from merlot, and there are many excellent producers here, such as Denis Dubourdieu.

September makes the vintage, it is said. When followed by a golden October, conditions for a fine vintage look promising indeed. A few are suggesting, somewhat optimistically, that 2014 might produce the quality of 2010; all agree that the results are far superior to the last three vintages. Whilst the weather deteriorated towards the end of harvest, smiles remain in Bordeaux after a fine end to the season which resolved most of the problems that had beset the region during the growing season, including some coulure (poor fruit set) on the merlot.

Attentive work in the vineyards was necessary to combat mildew over a cool, often damp summer, as was the sacrifice of some bunches to allow better maturation for the remainder. Fine weather arrived just in time and although interrupted occasionally, it was never for a sustained period. Yields are down for some, albeit without the dramatic losses caused by hail in the last year or two, but at the time of writing many châteaux are enjoying the ...

September makes the vintage, it is said. When followed by a golden October, conditions for a fine vintage look promising indeed. A few are suggesting, somewhat optimistically, that 2014 might produce the quality of 2010; all agree that the results are far superior to the last three vintages. Whilst the weather deteriorated towards the end of harvest, smiles remain in Bordeaux after a fine end to the season which resolved most of the problems that had beset the region during the growing season, including some coulure (poor fruit set) on the merlot.

Attentive work in the vineyards was necessary to combat mildew over a cool, often damp summer, as was the sacrifice of some bunches to allow better maturation for the remainder. Fine weather arrived just in time and although interrupted occasionally, it was never for a sustained period. Yields are down for some, albeit without the dramatic losses caused by hail in the last year or two, but at the time of writing many châteaux are enjoying the most comfortable situation of the last four years, with good quality and average to good volume.

Dry whites were picked in good conditions, from early September for the young-vine sauvignon blancs. Fine dry days and cool nights favoured the retention of fresh aromas and good results are expected across the price spectrum.

Producers of sweet wines played a long waiting game – the fine September weather, so good for dry whites and saviour of the reds, did not favour the development of botrytis in what was already a reduced crop. The Dubourdieu family (suppliers of our Exhibition Sauternes amongst others) have declared themselves happy with quality, less with quantity, and overall the estates which can afford to be more selective, will have fared best. Initial tastings suggest 2014 will be a good vintage for sweet wines.