Chateau Landat 2009, March 15

Would like to share my last pick, a French red haut-medoc called Chateau Landat, 2009. It was rated 91 by wine spectator, I think, and was trying to find a French red that we all could find. It cost about $20 and had a good review online.  SO we made it my Friday night pick for March 15.  I must say, it was a disappointment. The wine was appealing visually but had almost no bouquet to speak of, perhaps a hint of spice and licorice but that was faint. I decanted mine for two hours and still did not bring out the bouquet.  Well, the taste was forgettable, very dry, almost no taste except maybe a hinte of spice and faint dark fruit but mostly a bite that was not pleasing at all. Cheese mellowed the bite but still the medoc had almost no taste that one could say was enjoyable.  Next day, same results.  Our concensus was that we should never get this wine again, although I could drink it perhaps with gouda or other cheese.  Brit's rating: 1 star, maybe 2 after extensive decanting and good cheeses with the wine.  Very dissappointing.

Good news, I found two very nice reds the next week from the WSJ wine club, first was a Bordeaux by Christian Mouiex - the genius behind decades of the Chateau Petris line.  This 2009 Bordeaux has nice merlot and cabernet sauvignon flavors, very pleasant to drink with a meal or by itself.  Also, a surpisingly pleasant South African Cabernet Sauvignon by Domaine Rouxvale, vintage 2011 whose flavors exploded on the tongue with cherry/wild cherry sensations, very nice!  I highly recommend these two reds, each considered 3-stars on the Brit Scale.  That's Brit's Corner for March 2013.


Not to promote Total Wines or anything (we in fact have no affiliation with them) but this wine was picked because Brit could go online and see what the rest of us could find in our stores that he could find in his own store in Texas. So it turns out that wine was Château Landat Haut - Médoc 2009.

Appearance: slightly leggy, very dark purple

Smell: merlot, oaky, dry, slightly buttery

Taste: lighter than you would think, dry, oaky, turpentine endnote, wooly texture, grape, smokey

Pairings: filet for Brit, BBQ chicken pizza, Gouda with the wine takes the bite away, cheddar works as well, chocolate makes this wine super dry and sour so avoid it at all costs when drinking this wine, 

Brit Scale Ratings

Erin: 1
Sherry: 2
Brit: 2
Gerry:
Robin:
Melissa: