2007 Potensac, Médoc

Staff Reviews

GW

Gary Westby

Gary Westby

We paired this with a lovely New York steak after giving it an hour in the decanter. This wine impressed me very much with a great combination of dark color, dark cassis fruit, but medium to light body. That old school combination of ripeness without heaviness is getting to be rarer and rarer. It is also an incredibly clean wine, with no brett, only clean gravely minerality. The nose is kissed with a little tobacco from the French oak, but in the mouth I found it aqueux, delicate and far too easy to drink. The finish is long, lifted and the tannin is resolved. If you love old fashioned claret, don’t miss it. This combination of terroir, craft and time is rarely available at such a great price.

Notes

Château Potensac is owned by Domaines Delon, and the same team that oversees Leoville Las Cases works their magic here at Potensac. Their 150 acres of vineyards are in the northern Médoc, in the commune of d’Ordonnac and include some plots that are more than 80 years old. Here the soil is very similar to St. Estephe, which is just 15 minutes’ drive to the south. The 2007 vintage has proven itself as delicious for current drinking, but I would argue that this could also be held- I think it is just the beginning for this wine! The hot spring gave way to a wet and cold summer in 2007, but they were patient at Potensac, waiting until late September to harvest and finishing on October 8th. Even though the harvest was late, this wine weighs in at a very digestible 13%. (Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer)