So to mark this first ever Cellar Saturday, I've reached back to a bottle I bought about 10 years ago, the 1996 Château Bonalgue Pomerol. Now I'll be the first to admit, that when it comes to Bordeaux, I have a certain set of preferences developed over the years. My absolute favorite Bordaux is always the Margaux (who could blame me, really?), but what may be a surprise is that in second place is the Haut Medoc and Medoc, followed in no particular order by the St. Emilion, St. Estephe and Pomerol. Now don't get me wrong, just because it's not my favorite doesn't mean a Pomerol can't be a stellar bottle of wine, it's just my personal preference.
This particular wine has aged fairly well, and exhibits most of the characteristics you'd expect from a wine that just turned old enough for driver's ed! The color in the glass was a deep ruby, extending to a brownish tint toward the edges. The nose was rather interesting, with serious floral notes surrounded by aromas of licorice, rose petals and grass. The taste was very earthy, with flavors of moss combined with black pepper and raisins.
Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it was exactly what I would expect from a Pomerol, but there was nothing that really wowed me about it. I have some other nicely aged and special bottles to open, so we'll see what comes next on the first Saturday of September!
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