Bordeaux 2011 – Stylistic differences at similar prices

by Charles Lea

Château Tronquoy-Lalande & Château La Tour Carnet

It is no particular secret that Robert Parker tends to like the lush, ripe, dense, sweet style wines like La Tour Carnet made by M. Magrez, (who also owns Pape Clement, and many others) while some ‘old school English’ have been rather shocked by them. On the other hand the rather dry and intense style of Tronquoy Lalande (£220) which appealed to me a lot this year seems to have had an almost identical reaction from Neal Martin. Not sure there is a ‘right’ here, and we can offer La Tour Carnet at £225. But go back and have a look at the notes on Lilian Ladouys (nearly half the price of either if these) and Les Ormes de Pez too.

From the Delon (Las Cases) stable we have the first ‘junior releases’ of Fugue de Nénin and Potensac.