Happy Mother's Day to all you fine mothers out there! In honor of my mother who passed away in 2010, I've been planting flowers like crazy, first at the cemetery last Friday and today four flats of impatiens along the side of my house (four flats is officially 192 individual plants!). Needless to say, I am tired now, a perfect time to open up a nice bottle of wine. Tonight it's the 2010 Chateau de Cantenac Brown Brio Margaux, which is still young for a Margaux, but just old enough to open!
The wine is a deep inky purple in the glass, with some bright garnet along the edges. The nose is a lush array of ripe black fruit, cherries, plum, blackberries, all over just the faintest hint of Bordeaux funk. The taste offers some fruit at the outset which quickly subsides to some earthy notes of leather, anise and oak. The finish is somewhat refined, but the young tannins are still tightly wound, though they don't inhibit the long, dry finish that lasts for 30 seconds or more.
Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, it'd drinking nicely now, but will likely improved quite a bit over the next few years. This wine was also a nice value from Wines Till Sold Out that I bought for just $25. Tonight I am enjoying this first glass with my appetizer of fresh mussels sauteed in garlic and olive oil, which will be followed by a rare grilled Angus New York strip, baked potato and some grilled Brussels sprouts. This is the perfect wine for a big steak, cheers!
