2010 Cambon la Pelouse

I don’t ordinarily drink on a school night, but last night I did. I don’t ordinarily drink from classic bdx vintages so soon after release but last night I did.

This wine was very fine. There was still plenty of tannin to be resolved – lots of flannel on the tongue – but there is a ton of depth here and the makings of a fairly complex drink. I am going to keep my hands off of the rest of my bottles but I was surprised and quite pleased with how this wine performed as an infant. An exceptional bargain still at ~$20-22.

A case-plus purchase for me. IMHO, the best QPR in 2010 Bdx.

How well does this age? I seem to remember buying some of the 05, and probably guzzling them all up years ago, unless some have managed to slink out of sight, and into the wrong bins. Maybe I should have left one aside for experimentation.

I know everyone is well aware of Caronne St. Gemme, but that was also a case purchase in 05 that I quaffed casually that turned out to be way better than I’d expected. Someone turned us on to it by pouring a magnum of the 00 at some point, which incredibly, didn’t do shabbily against a Sociando Mallet from the same vintage.

Love this wine, and it is drinking very well for a youngster. And probably worth hiding a few for 10 years or so.

Loved the '04

I have zero concerns with this wine’s ability to age. The 2010 is one of those oddities that drinks well now but clearly has the structure to age.

I would also like to plug the estate’s AOC Margaux, “L’Aura”.

This is one mighty good wine, and would throw anyone in a blind tasting.
I strongly recommend.

Alex R.

Thanks Alex! Have not tried it.

Of course only a BWE alumni would know this

Well, unlike Neal, I have no school night rules. Just finished a very nice Chinon that I popped last night, and thinking it will be a long U.S Open tennis night, I needed another toddy. I’ve said this before, this could be the QPR of the vintage. At $22 it slays just about any cab blend in its price class. A very structured, classic Bordeaux, but showing some surprising openess notwithstanding.

Did some checking on this wine, consider me slighly surprising. Merlot is the predominant grape at 52%, then cab at 44% and petit verdot to round it out. I guess that helps with the approachability and roundness that this vintage shows. Only 40% new oak and only 40% at 12 mos of barrel aging. Thank you for that.

I had this a few weeks ago with: Chateau Poujeaux 2010, Chateau Lanessan 2010 and Chateau Senejac 2010. The Chateau Cambon la Pelouse 2010 was not the worst of these wines. All great wines and great qpr. Nice steakwines both now and when mature
I very seldom open Bordeaux but this was a nice surprise. Thanks for the recommendation Robert (and others)

The best Crus Bourgeoise are my main interest in Bordeaux these days. I still buy some Crus Classé but in lesser quantity than in former times. Why? Cambon la Pelouse etc. are better wines than many Crus Classé have been 20 years ago. And while the “big guns” got absurdly expensive recently these gems remain almost cheap in comparison.

Hey Claus - You just prompted me to grab a few 2010 Senejacs ($20 USD) and a half case of the 2014 in futures ($12.99). I forgot about these but really liked the 2005.

The 2010 Senejac is a beautyfull wine.
If you really want some qpr in the 20$ range the 2010 Produttori Barbaresco is superior to these Bordeaux, imo. The nose alone is far more complex and multifaceted. End of Piemonte rant

On Neal’s and Robert’s comments on this wine, and previous success with their recommendation of Lanessan, I picked up a bottle to try. Boy am I glad I did. I am only about 30 minutes into this but it is singing.

Popped and poured. Dark in color. On the nose, fairly fruity with pencil lead, earthy, mushroom notes and bit of smoke. On the palate, the wine is medium in weight, with quite a bit of fruit and structure. Shades of pencil lead, and the faintest bit of herb/bell pepper. There is a lot to like here now, and I think it will develop complexity and elegance once time softens the tannins. Easy case purchase at this price.

Excellent Jeff, glad you enjoyed it! Glad you bumped this thread, too, as it reminded me to buy some 2010 Produttori on Claus’ recommendation. Just snagged a few bottles for $25.99 each. Nice.

I opened one of these over the weekend. It put a smile on my face and my wife loved it. I am kicking myself for only buying one case. Crazy QPR. Has anyone tried the 14, 15 or 16?

I love the 2010, and like you, wish that I had bought even more.

The winery has changed, now. Bouard got involved in 2013. Here is my note on the 2014:

Since we are talking about Hubert Bouard, I just cracked open a bottle of the 2014 Cambon La Pelouse, Haut Medoc, a perennial favorite of mine for quality value drinking. I had heard some changes were going down, but did not know until just now that Hubert Bouard came on in 2013. Barely had a glass, the new oak signature and its associated dry astringency made this wine rather unpalatable. I do not know how/if the oak regime on this wine has changed, but I have never detected this astringency in Cambon La Pelouse. I notice that Jeff Leve’s note on the 2015 starts off with the word, “oaky”. Stuck it in the fridge to see what happens tomorrow, but I’m guessing it’s a dumper. What a shame.

I bought some 2016, will pop one this week to see.

Thanks Robert. I look forward to hearing about the 2016.