In traditional ‘12 days of Christmas’ style, Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay chooses a dozen gift suggestions from amongst La Place’s more exclusive new releases. Here are the first six wines. On the first day of Christmas my true-love (might have) sent to me The wine: Château d’Issan 2010 Format: A single bottle, yes, but from a gloriously situated Margaux estate on a sharp upward ascent and in a truly great vintage. The perfect Christmas wine, just beginning to enter its sweet spot. Yours for: Well, this would have been a lot cheaper en primeur but still a comparative snip (at least in the context of this rather covetous selection) at c. £400-450 in bond for a case of 6 bottles (Farr Vinters) … That said, I’m not expecting to find this under any Christmas tree near me any time soon. Tasting notes: Chateau d’Issan 2010 (Margaux; 60% Cabernet Sauvignon; 40% Merlot; a final yield of just 22 hl/ha; from a singular terroir of gravel over deep clay; 13.7% alcohol). Immediately one knows one is in Margaux – with that lovely combination of Cabernet florality and a subtle sous bois-reinforced herbal and wild heathery element. One thinks of d’Issan as a property now on a steep upward ascent and that is undoubtedly true. What one tastes here is the sheer quality of the terroir in this exceptional vintage. The narrowness of the frame reinforces the sense of concentration and density – the impact in the mouth of the wine. But
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Fine Wine
