Château Cantemerle Haut Medoc 2010

Tasting Notes

• Aroma: The bouquet is intricate and captivating, with layers of tobacco, licorice, and black currant, complemented by a touch of spice. A swirl in the glass further enhances its aromatic complexity, unveiling additional notes of ripe plum and earthy nuances.
• Palate: On the palate, the wine offers a seamless blend of flavors, including juicy blackberries and baked plums, enriched by subtle hints of nutmeg and clove from its oak aging. The tannins are smooth and well-integrated, contributing to a velvety texture and a long, lingering finish.
• Overall Impression: This vintage strikes a beautiful balance between power and elegance, making it approachable now with decanting, while also possessing the structure and depth to age gracefully for the next 15-20 years.

Food Pairing:

Cantemerle Haut-Médoc 2010 is a versatile wine that pairs wonderfully with a wide range of dishes, including grilled / roasted red meats (beef, lamb), game dishes (venison, duck), hard / mature cheeses (aged Gouda, Comté, cheddar).

Reviews:

94PTS, James Suckling

A wine with blueberry and mineral aromas follows through to a full body, with fine tannins and a juicy finish. Best for years from here. Needs at least three years of bottle age to soften. Could be better than 2009 in the long run.

RP94, Robert Parker

The wine needs a good 7-10 years of cellaring and should keep for 30 more years, but this is the finest Cantemerle I have encountered in my professional career of tasting young vintages (dating back 34 years now). Stunningly deep ruby/purple, with a beautiful nose of spring flowers intermixed with perfumed raspberry and blueberry notes, it exhibits a sort of cool-climate character. Broad, rich and intense on the palate, the wine has plenty of tannins, but they are sweet and well-integrated. Everything is delicately entwined into this beautiful, medium to full-bodied, dense purple wine, which shows stunning character and a prodigious potential for development. This is definitely a major sleeper of the vintage and even better than I thought from barrel. With its 2010, this classified growth located in the southern end of the Medoc may well have made a modern-day version of their legendary 1949.