2010 Magdelaine Bordeaux Red

2010 Magdelaine

95 WS

Featured Review

Jam-packed, with mouthfilling notes of blackberry preserves, crushed blueberry, plum skin and anise, showing loads of singed wood spice and briar for a lively texture. Stays supergrippy through the finish and needs a little time to round into form, but the range is serious and the length very impressive. Best from 2015 through 2030. 1,350 cases made. Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Attractive nose with fresh leather, plums and orange peel at first. Opens up with raspberries and vanilla. Wonderful sumptuous fruit on the palate with a full body and good length. Smooth tannins and good complexity. Already very enjoyable. Last vintage.

James Suckling | 94 JS

As so often with Magdelaine, the wine shows severity and dark tannins. In 2010, that has produced a complex and dense wine that has firm tannins, dark black fruits and a feeling of austerity. It will always be a firm wine.

Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

Attractive and elegant, as it always is, with hints of sweet strawberries, crushed chalk, raspberries and cherries, the wine is medium-bodied, relatively rich for a Magdelaine, with an attractive, heady mouthfeel and more suppleness, glycerin and power than this wine – usually a finesse-styled St.-Emilion – normally possesses. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.

Robert Parker | 92 RP

(Château Magdelaine) The 2010 Château Magdelaine is a paradigm of restraint for the vintage, but still a pretty ripe wine and not my favorite from this property in the last decade of its existence. However, it comes in listed at fourteen percent and handles its ripeness quite well (and better than the 2009), offering up a youthful nose of black cherries, cigar smoke, a fine base of chalky minerality, tobacco leaf, a whisper of herb tones and a judicious framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and a bit chewy on the backend, with a rock solid core, quite good soil elements for the vintage, firm tannins and a long, really quite well-balanced finish. This is a very good 2010. (Drink between 2030-2075).

John Gilman | 91 JG

(14.5% alcohol): Bright red-ruby. Lovely perfume of strawberry, plum and rose petal, enlivened by a chalky mineral element. Round and seamless in the mouth but very vinous and not at all overly sweet, with a strong potpourri element. More minerally and less velvety than many 2010 Saint-Emilion wines, and still youthfully tight today. But this is built to age.

Vinous Media | 91 VM

Type of Wine	Bordeaux Red : Picture in your mind a combination of cedar, lead pencil, blackcurrant, plum and mineral aromatics, and texture that caresses your palate like a playful lover. The experience is thrilling from the first whiff to the final seconds of a tannic, generous finish - that is what you'll get from a Bordeaux Red
Varietal	Bordeaux Blend
Country	France : Wine is the lifeblood that courses through the country of France, pulsing with vigorous pride and determination. Viticulture is not just a hobby or an occupation in France; it is a passion, a cherished tradition that has been passed down through generations of wine stained hands. Winemaking is a beloved art that has been ingrained in the culture, an aptitude instilled in sons by fathers and the hallmark for which France’s reputation was built, allowing it to be renowned as, arguably, the most important wine producing country in the world. For centuries, France has been producing wines of superior quality and in much greater quantity than any other country in the world. It boasts some of the most impressive wine regions, coveted vineyards and prestigious wines on earth. The regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Sauternes and Champagne have become the benchmark, for which others aspire to become. Legendary producers such as Chateaux Margaux, Domaine De La Romanee Conti, Chapoutier, d’Yquem and Dom Perignon are idolized world-wide. France has stamped its name on nearly every style of wine, from the nectar-like sweet Sauternes to hedonistic Chateauneuf Du Papes classic Bordeaux and Burgundy, to its sparkling dominance in Champagne. Many of the most infamous grape varietals in the world, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay originated in France and are not only beloved, but utilized in the creation of some of the greatest wines on earth. French wine production commands the attention of the wine market year after year. With over 860,000 hectares under vine, and numbers close to 50 million hectoliters of wine produced annually, France dominates the market and sets the standard for not only product quality, but also quantity. France’s many contributions to the world of wine have been absolutely indispensable. The country is the originator of the term “Premier Cru,” coined the term Terroir (a French term so complex there is no literal translation) and has laid the blueprint for a structured appellation system, which others have implemented in their own countries. French vineyard techniques and winemaking practices are mimicked world-wide. California vintners have been replicating Rhone style wines for decades, South America has adopted the French varietal of Malbec and countries around the world are imitating Burgundian styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With vast diversity in terroir, France is home to some of the most hospitable winegrowing locations on earth. The combination of topography, geology, climate, rainfall and even the amount of sunlight combined with the long historical tradition of winegrowing and making, has allowed the vintners of France to not only hone their skills, but learn from nature to create a product that like the world in which it resides… is very much alive.