Chateau D'Arvigny Haut-Medoc 2008

Hey everybody, it's been a while, hasn't it? Usually I try to have about two posts a week, but it just so happens that in the past seven days I've had about six different wines and I've had some difficulty trying to decide which ones to write about. Also, on top of that, I've been trying these wines several times throughout the week so I can get a better feel for them.

But enough with this teenage foreplay, let's dive right in! (Recycling past jokes, good start, Marco)

This time around I'll be writing about a pretty nice Bordeaux red. France's Bordeaux region has consistently produced world-class wines since, well, the middle ages. The particular wine that I'll be talking about comes from the Haut-Medoc region of Bordeaux, an area that allows only certain percentages of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, cabernet franc, and a little bit of malbec to be blended into their wines. The wine I'll be discussing shortly is from 2008, a vintage in Bordeaux where you taste the chateau, or the specific appellation/vineyard (which is pretty cool, comparing 2009 where you taste the vintage*.)

"LET'S GET ON WITH IT, YOU CLOWN!", you all scream!

... I'm not a clown!

The Chateau D'Arvigny Haut-Medoc 2008. In my opinion, this wine is pretty overrated, but pretty underrated as well. I guess you can call it average, or above average maybe. It depends on your taste. It's hard to find a wine from the Haut-Medoc region that isn't good, but that doesn't mean that they're all going to always be spectacular. What I mean by both over and under rated, is that some people will assume that because its a 2008 Haut-Medoc, it will be a spectacular wine; but at the same time, because it wasn't a 1st or 2nd or 3rd Growth rated wine, that it won't be any good. That's tomfoolery. Trust your palate, and you'll find what you like, don't buy into wine-world generalizations!

It's a pretty red. A dark red really, with a black purity to it. The legs on the wine are pretty nice, which is a sign that it's well structured and balanced, a prelude to what you'll experience when you taste it (... that's what she said.) I'd like to think that its solid structure will let it age pretty well, I'd say this wine could be put away for a few years and it'll mature pretty gracefully.

The blend (which specifically, I'm not sure of, since Haut-Medoc AOC's allow a lot of grape variety) gives the wine some nice aromatics. The wine is floral up front, with some fruit coming in towards the end of the sniff. Red currant, raspberries, and black cherries come through pretty nicely. It's not too earthy, and the oak takes a back seat to the flowery and fruity front court. There is a vanilla note if you really look for it, though.

As nice as the scents are though, they do no justice to the mouthfeel and flavor of the wine. It's supple and light on the tannins. Supple is the key word. The wine becomes chewy to an extent, and I'm not going to lie, it's a really nice feeling on the palate. Once again, in fruit you get some subtle red currant, black cherries, and raspberries in front of the pleasant red floral notes (or should I say red floral symphony?) The oak is there, but it's mild. That might be the only real downside to the blend.

Overall, the Chateau D'Arvigny Haut-Medoc is a pretty simple and nice wine. Is there something left to be desired, hell yeah there is. It's freaking Bordeaux. The appellation's chalky terroir should be coming through a lot more. The limestone in the soil should be growing on you throughout the mid-palate. BUT. The wine costs about 16 Zelda rupees (1 Zelda Rupee = $1 USD.) For a pretty modest price you're getting a very good wine in terms of value. There's some Bordeaux characteristics in this wine that other Haut-Medocs fetch over $30 for. That structure is something to be coveted, it's hard to find. So is that supple and chewy texture. The merlot in the wine really shines, and Bordeaux merlots can soar into the $1000 range.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for good values. I'd give the wine an 86 on the 100 point scale. That's pretty good, then again my scale relies heavily on dollar power. Big time wine drinkers would probably scoff at this bad-boy, but post by post, we're changing that. We can appreciate this wine. Hell, its delicious. I've got about two glasses left in my bottle at home, and I'm excited to finish it off if it stays fresh for another couple of days.

Anyways, thanks for the patronage, and you'll be hearing from the Wine Noob once again by the end of the week. Enjoy the sunny weather, fellas! (expect some white wine reviews coming soon!)


*Mad Props to Wine Spectator for the comparison between '08 and '09 Bordeaux