2000 Chateau De Sainte Gemme Haut-Medoc
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The story of this wine is quite involved but I think you will enjoy. One afternoon I took a trip to Papa Joes in Birmingham to take a look at their wine selection. I had just drank a Bordeaux and wanted to replace the bottle in my collection. While looking around I was given the 2001 Chateau De Sainte Gemme to try. It was a $20 bottle which I thought was fair and decided to buy it. A few hours later we went to Costco and at the front door was a pallet full of the 2000 vintage of the same wine. I was a bit leery since I thought the wine may be cooked do to improper storing but decided to pick up a bottle since it was only $11.99. At the time I didn't realise it was the same Chateau and discovered it when I came home. Now knowing that I scored a great deal since the '01 was selling for $20 and the '00 was at $12 I had to pick up more. I went back to Costco and grabbed another 2 bottles giving myself 3 now plus the '01. A week later I was back at Papa Joes talking with the wine guy and he said that I should have bought as much as I could and that I should go back and get more if it was still available. Well Erika and I went back, we actually had a couple things to pick up so it wasn't just for the wine. I found a couple cases left and grabbed 3 more bottles. I decided that I couldn't sit on so many bottles so I had to open one. I decanted about half of it and let sit for about 45 minutes to breathe.
Upon pouring, the wine was deep purple and had a classic Bordeaux nose. Being 7 years old now the wine had mellowed a bit and was not too green upon 1st tasting. After 45 minutes it had opened and the flavors poured thru. There was a good balance between the fruit and smoke and the finish lingered with bits of cherry. Overall it was not too sweet and not too tart. The earthiness shone thru and it remained rich and complex to the end. I was very impressed with the wine and felt it was a steal for $12. I plan on saving some bottles and drinking them each year seeing if I can notice a change. I know this isn't some first growth grand cru but it would be about $20-$30 a bottle in any wine store and worth the challenge. If you happen to see this bottle at Costco, pick some up before its all gone.
Posted by mardenhill 4/19/2007 09:19:00 PM
Labels: Wine
