Ch. La Rame 2009 Bordeaux Rouge

The Land... Sainte Croix du Mont is a lesser-known appellation of eastern Bordeaux. The region exists literally across the river from (but figuratively in the shadow of) Sauternes, the most well-known and probably greatest of French dessert wine producing regions. On this side of the Garonne Chateau la Rame make probably the best, and certainly the best-value, dry red and white wine.

The Wine... What makes this wine special? The Armand family have been on a mission (spanning two generations) to raise the quality of their wines and subsequently the reputation of this often-ignored appellation. Today they farm 20 hectares of 45-year-old vines planted on slopes that face full-south to the Garonne river. The wine is not fined and only lightly filtered.

The Style... The prevailing style in Bordeaux for a number of years has been to bottle super-concentrated, ripe and lavishly oaky red (and occasionally white) wines. To me the wines of Chateau La Rame stick closer to an older template of subtle, medium-weight, food-friendly wines. Age worthy perhaps, but more importantly great in the meantime, in particular with traditional French country cooking.