AOC Bordeaux Supérieur, France
We love Bordeaux. It's one of the most historic wine producing regions in the world and a constant source of beautiful, delicious bottles. It's also massive, producing millions of bottles per year which can be intimidating for many wine drinkers to navigate. When an area begins to produce so much wine, quality will fall in some places. So it does take some extra effort to sift through the enormous catalogue of offerings to find wines that are truly special. And when you can find something that checks the boxes for deliciousness, affordability and age? Yeah, you get pretty excited.
The 2012 Cuvée Géraldine instantly opens to aromas of dark fruits, damp soil and roasted coffee with hints of tar and wet stone. This has a richer fuller body with beautiful tannins and a lush presence on the palate. There's a lovely combination of fruit and acidity underlined by a mineral streak through the long finish. Dried fig, black pepper, and chocolate raspberry fudge linger on the finish with crunchy, well-developed tannins. This is full marks for drinkability but should also hold up a few more years in the cellar. A wonderful and undervalued part of Bordeaux that brings top notch value to the table. Big winner here for the QPR fans and for fans of great red wines in general.
This is an elegant, refined bottle with lots of variations through the course of drinking. It's gorgeous to sip slowly over an evening with a plate of mature French cheeses but a super versatile match to a range of foods from Shepherd's Pie to seared duck breast to roast lamb to anything that prominently features mushrooms and truffles.