TN: 2001 Clos du Marquis (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien)

WINE TALK
1

2001 Clos du Marquis - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (8/18/2013)
I’ve been slogging through a case of this wine, consistently finding it dull and oaky. Well this weekend the wine proved me wrong. Twelve years in there is balance, depth and fine drinkability. What had seemed a burden has become a delight, with subtle fruit married to earthy, leathery and cedary elements that just evoke Bordeaux for me. Damn my impatience.

Posted from CellarTracker

2

Thanks for the update, David. Like you, I’ve been working my way through a case of this over the past 8 or nine years scratching my head. Oaky & Dull. I’ll have to pop one soon. Mahalo!

3

That’s how '04 has been for me. This gives me hope it’ll wake up one day.

4

I wonder how long it will take for 2009’s to come around…buried these pretty deep in the locker.

5

2000 was good when I had it recently.

6

If it takes 12 years to wake up coming from an “off vintage” year, how long for something like 2000 or 2005?

7

2001 is in no way an off vintage.

8

Thanks for the tasting note. Clos du Marquis is one of the few Bordeaux I regularly buy. I find it to be quite reliable and it matches my personal taste. I haven’t had the 2001 in three years or so, but back then I also found it to be quite sturdy. So I’m not surprised that it only now starts opening up. I had the 2002 twice over the last year and that’s very approachable now (and really excellent considering the price [and the vintage]).

9

Now in my limited experience the Grand Vin Leoville Las Cases from the same stable does take a very long time to come round [only the 1997 seemed to break that rule] but the Clos du Marquis not enormously more than many Cru classe wines. For example my 1996s are drinking very nicely and an early 2000 was very young but already good experience with air. I haven’t had the 2001 [a very good Bordeaux vintage albeit generally earlier drinking than 2000] but David’s experience and attractive TN in the originating post comes as no surprise.

Even at the Cru Bourgeois level their Potensac can appear rather tough and oaky but usually smooths into something attractive. I am on my last bottles of 3 cases of the 1996 of that although it has been drinking well for years.