Chateau La Cardonne 2000

We have finally started to tap into the French section of the cellar. Saturday night my wife made another one of her exceptional swiss dinners of Pork Tenderloin Medallions with a honey and curry sauce along with a slice of apple on top. As her father always does in Switzerland, she broke out the Bordeaux. The Chateau La Cardonne is a Cru Bourgeois, a classification dating back to 1932 which was attempted to be revised in 2003 but vetoed by the French Government.   This wine is not only from the Medoc region , but also from the Appellation of Medoc. Typically, there is more Cabernet Sauvignon planted in this part of the appellation than Merlot, but the blend for the La Cardonne is 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. The Medoc region is divided into two parts with the northern section called Medoc and the southern portion called Haut-Medoc. I will save the Bordeaux sub-region classifications and discussion for a separate post as it gets very confusing.

As you can see on the vintage chart (see sidebar), the 2000 Bordeaux's from Medoc had outstanding ratings. This wine followed those ratings, though not as high. This had a delicious bordeaux taste with the cabernet franc perfectly integrated. It was a smooth wine with nice rich aromas of red berries, chocolate and some molasses. The French oak was present but had aged well. The wine really opened up as dinner went on.  I recommend decanting this wine.  If you are looking for a nice entry-level Bordeaux at a very reasonable price, $22, then give this a try. The La Cardonne 2000 is ready to be opened. No need to cellar this longer. Wine Spectator gave this an 89 point rating. I would agree.