The 2006 Presidial Bordeaux is back in
stock
Some people came back for thirds on this wine
last year. We kept the 2005s flowing until
the very last drop, but then we had to wait
while Jean-Luc Thunevin finished working his
magic with the 2006 Presidial.
But, it is here now and I'm ready to fill
your glass. You will love it! It is all
concentrated fruit and none of those vegetal,
reedy flavors or rough tannins that often mar
a lower priced Bordeaux that is not
meticulously made. This Presidial 2006
is quite perfect and no surprise considering
that Thunevin is the architect.
It doesn't hurt that this Bordeaux has been
the rave of the French press. It has been
been called the "Best Value in Bordeaux".
More than once. Now that is tough to top.
You probably know who Jean-Luc Thunevin is
by now. He "started" the whole "garage"
movement back in 1989. Garage wines, as you
probably know by now, are small production
wines made from tiny parcels of vines that
are tended as preciously as orchid gardens.
Jean Luc bought a tiny parcel, on the "wrong
side of the tracks" in Saint-Emilion and
proved to the venerable Saint-Emilion
establishment in a few vintages that one
could make a silk purse from a moose's ear if
you did things like de-stemming by hand and
severe green harvesting and keeping the
yields very, very low.
He called his wine Valandraud. It
led the way in the quality revolution in
Saint-Emilion that persists to this day.
Now, even the old establishment types are
copying his every move. We have Jean-Luc
Thunevin to thank for a lot of the great wine
coming out of Saint-Emilion because today he
advises many, many chateau owners about their
wines.
That is why when Jean-Luc gets a yearning to
do something - like create a great, little
generic Bordeaux that doesn't cost an arm and
leg - I want to get in on it. That's the
Presidial story. He took great parcels of
terroir from around Liborne which is
right next to Pomerol and Saint-Emilion and
applied all of his demanding winemaking
techniques et voila!
Some of you read my emails and proclaim,
"What doesn't she like?" Well, if you only
knew how hard it is to find a really great
little Bordeaux you wouldn't be saying that.
There are hundreds of wines that splash down
my gullet and then right into the spittoon
never to meet my taste buds again. This
Presidial was a winner from the
get-go.
I had it the other night and my first
thoughts were about the fabulous, pure Merlot
fruit
that started out good and ended even better. It
is really a charmer and at this price, you
should think seriously about two cases.
Cynthia Hurley
