Having enjoyed a glass of several Bordeauxs last week, last night's meal seemed no time to make an exception so we opened what is I think is only our second 2001 so far, the Clos L'Eglise from the warmer nether regions of Bordeaux, the Cotes de Castillon. Haven't had that much experience with these wines, except to note that they've all been bigger, fleshier and jammier than their fancy cousins to the north so I've avoided the appellation except in cooler years like 01.
And in that sense it was good wine: fleshy blackberry, black currant and blueberry fruit with some cedary opulence. Overtly sweet on the attack with ripe tannins on the finish, it's a very modern style and indistinguishable from a lot of the red blends we drink here in Washington state. The only thing that suggests it might not be is the strange saltiness that takes over from the sweetness about midway through a glass. As such, not bad wine, but not at all what I hope for from Bordeauxs, especially coming on the heels of the excellent Barde Haut and spare Bernadotte we'd had in the days before.
