2001 Chateau Meylet Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Tonight is the first Saturday of June, and you know what that means, it's Cellar Saturday!  A time for me to open a more mature wine that I've been saving and enjoy it for no good reason at all!  And tonight's Cellar Saturday feature is a wine that my Aunt and Uncle brought back for me from their trip to French wine country last year, the 2001 Chateau Meylet Saint-Emilion Grand Cru!

The wine is a nice ruby color in the glass with just a hint of brown along the edges, with limited opacity.  The nose is interesting, with notes of rich, jammy fruit, cherries, blackberries, plums and raisins, that transitions to some Asian spice and leather with a hint of smoke.  The taste is classic Bordeaux, with a burst of ripe black fruit up front, plum, blackberry and blueberry that transitions effortlessly to some notes of green tea, dusty limestone and moss midpalate (this is what I would call classic Bordeaux "funk").  The finish is delightful, with very sophisticated and well structured tannins forming the foundation for a long, smooth and exceptionally dry finish that could only come from Gironde!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, mainly because I just love classic Bordeaux and this is a prime example of their age worthiness as this one is drinking very well right now, and it's only a teenager!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare, seared Kansas City style T-bone, grilled leeks, baked potato and some fresh steamed asparagus just picked in Michigan.  A wine like this is just perfect with a great grilled steak as the dark fruit and mineral qualities are the perfect balance for the char on the meat.  Salut!