CHÂTEAU CAMBON LA PELOUSE

2017 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Haut Médoc

EN PRIMEUR

This has been an L&S favourite for the last 20 years and I am delighted to say the quality is once again excellent. Sweet dark fruit mingles on the palate with fresh hedgerow and nettle flavours. It is medium bodied, with some lovely juice, good structure and refreshing minerality. One to fill the cellar with for short to medium term drinking. Rating: 89 L&S (Apr 2018)

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The 2017 Cambon La Pelouse is a pretty, savory Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois to drink now and over the next few years. Grilled herbs, mint, tobacco, cedar and dried cherry give the 2017 lovely aromatic presence. On the palate, the 2017 is a bit slender, and yet all the elements are very nicely balanced. I would prefer to drink it over the next few years. Drinking range: 2019 - 2026 Rating: 89 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)

The 2017 Cambon la Palouse is a wine that was perplexingly green out of barrel, yet here in barrel I am pleased to find improvement. It offers attractive blackberry, sous-bois and light chimney soot aromas on the nose, very classic Bordeaux in style and demonstrating much better delineation than expected. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, quite fresh in the mouth with a minty finish that does not outstay its welcome. This should drink well over the next decade and I am happy to upgrade over my mean barrel score. Tasted on two occasions. Drinking range: 2021 - 2032 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)

The 2017 Cambon la Pelouse is austere and mean on the nose and desperately needs more fruit to come through. The palate is medium-bodied with dry tannin, very simple compared to its peers and fading on the finish. This estate can produce good Bordeaux but this is not one of them. Drinking range: 2020 - 2025 Rating: 83-85 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

Inky purple crimson. Deep rich purple fruit on the nose. Dark ripe plum. Compact with fruit and with a light hand on the tannins, just slightly chalky on the end. Then a dry but not drying graphite-like finish. Drinking range: 2021 - 2027 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)

The 2017 Château Cambon La Pelouse is another inky-colored Médoc from the team of Hubert de Boüard. Tons of ripe black and blue fruits, crushed violets, and hints of graphite give way to a medium to full-bodied, ripe, beautifully concentrated beauty that's going to be a hidden gem in this vintage. Rating: 88-90 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)

Tight and a little lean on the palate. Medium body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Rating: 88-89 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)

Gentle cassis and cherry preserve flavors are carried by light chalky tannins. A floral note runs through the finish. Rating: 87-90 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)

This estate, which tends to over-perform, seems to have been disadvantaged in this vintage. It is located southwest of Macau, a few kilometres from the Garonne. It is comprised of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot in this vintage. It is certainly expressive, with pretty cherry and red plum fruits, although the nose also carries a prominent herbal streak, with lots of sage and bay leaf overlay. The palate shows the same profile, the contradiction of pretty fruit set against the greener notes of the herb garden, wrapped within a gentle, open, loose and juicy texture, with the acids more prominent than anything else, and the finish filled with bitter tannins. 82-84/100 Rating: 82-84 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)

One of the longest-standing producers with exports to England dating back to the end of the 17th Century, the 38 hectare Château Cambon La Pelouse contributed substantially in the past to building the reputation in France and abroad of Médoc wines. The 35 hectare estate is on the outskirts of Macau and counts the Margaux estates of Giscours and Cantemerle as neighbours. With an average annual production of 250,000 bottles, the estate is planted 52% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot to a vine density of 7,000 vines per hectare with an average age of 30 years for the vines. The terroir is composed of sandy gravels which provides effective drainage. This ensures a consistent production of elegant medium-bodied wines which have been praised by Robert Parker as “one of my favorite estates from the southern part of the Medoc”.