Château Les Paruades – Bourdeaux Superieur

                   

Name: Château Les Paruades
Varietal: Bourdeaux Superieur (60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc)

Region: Bourdeaux
Country: France
Year: 2016
Price: $16.95

Vintage Cellar Review: A nose of rose petal, mineral and black fruits are at the core of this wine. Mineral notes translate to the palate as well, with dense ripe blueberry, blackberry and black cherry fruit. Slightly firm tannins and medium acidity lend good balance.

Flavors/Aromas: (Pg. 219) I was a bit nervous trying a blended wine for the first time for this exercise, as I have not gotten super familiar with the varietals that make it up at this point. Thankfully, Wine Folly specifically mentions this blend as a standout of the region, noting savory flavors of graphite, black currant, black cherry, and cigar.

My Review: Like I said, going for a blended wine this early was a bold choice for a blog, and honestly I feel like I should have waited longer until I became more confident in my ability to talk about wine. That said, I tried it at a tasting and thought it was good, so isn't that what is most important? Thus, I won't be able to talk about how each different grape contributes, but I will do my best to talk about the taste as a whole. Sniffing it definitely revealed those deep, dark berries, which further came out in the first couple of sips. I think I ended up getting the rose petal and mineral flavors later though, assuming the latter is that "bright" texture I came upon. The body was also heavier than most, and the tannins really came to play down the line. It was just generally complex, and I definitely enjoyed it quite a bit, but I think I'm going to stick with more varietals for the time being.

Food Pairing: N/A