2009 Château Tour St. Bonnet - Médoc

Quite apart from the name and label, its deep, wonderfully fleshy Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated flavors, and robust yet supple tannic structure really did call to mind the quintessential Englishman's claret, first growth Château Latour in Pauillac; this is almost shocking given the current price of 2009 Château Latour (don't ask). Of course, no one would confuse the two, but one must also say that both wines are definitively Médoc. That gets to the point that the venerable English writers were getting at. There really is something truly special about a well-made Médoc, regardless of official pedigree. The 2009 Château Tour St. Bonnet, to borrow the eloquent words of Edmund Penning-Rowsell, truly has the distinctively Médoc "inner core which keeps the flavor true to the end." While drinking deliciously well now (decant 30 min. in advance), this robustly constructed claret has an exceptional aging potential of 7 to 10 years.