My ears always perk up when I hear Saint-Emilion, especially when I am in a wine shop like the Fine Wine Source.  I really fell in love with the wines from Saint-Emilion during my high school years, because they were such a bargain compared to the Medoc and its Communes.  They were also easier to drink at a younger age, because they were so silky.  When I was young and the world was not “politically correct,” Saint-Emilion wines were referred to as feminine, because they were supple and enticing.  Actually, I think that those were technical terms about wines, when I was learning about wines.   The appellation requires that Saint-Emilion wines be red, white wines from this region are covered at Bordeaux Blanc.  The wines are made predominately from Merlot and Cabernet Franc, though Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Petit Verdot and Malbec are also permitted. Saint-Emilion also has four satellite regions that are allowed to append their name to Saint Emilion; Lussac, Saint-Georges, Puisseguin and Montagne.   Montagne is the largest satellite and Saint-Georges is the smallest, and a quirk in the appellation laws allows a winery in Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion to use Montagne-Saint-Emilion.

Chateau Clos de Bouard “Dame de Bouard” Montagne-Saint-Emilion 2018 was a charming wine.  Clos de Bouard is the new project for Coralie de Bouard along with her husband Loic Maillet.  Her husband is a negociant at LA Vintage, while she owns another property La Fleur de Bouard in Lalande de Pomerol and her father is Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus.  Clos de Bouard was known prior as Tour Musset and was purchased in 2016.  “Dame de Bouard” is the second label of the winery.  The estate is thirty hectares of clay and limestone soil with a southern exposure.  The average age of the vines are forty years of age, but some are estimated to be over one-hundred years or older.  The fruit is hand harvest, with a maceration period of three to five weeks.  The fruit from the individual plots are vinified separately until the time of blending.  The wine is aged from ten to fourteen months, with thirty percent new barrels.  This vintage is a blend of sixty percent Merlot, thirty percent Cabernet Franc and ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon.  I have read from a couple of sources that this wine should be cellared for a couple of years, and I can appreciate that as I thought that it was quite fruit forward and young.  Ripe fruit and sweet spices with soft tannins was my thoughts on drinking this wine young, and I think that it will mellow and mature into something much more elegant in a couple of years and since it is reasonably priced, I think it is a safe bet

Chateau Tour du Pas Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion 2010 and is owned by Delbeck Vignobles et Developpements.  This wine is being produced by Pascal Delbeck who for twenty years was at Chateau Ausone.  The property is fourteen hectares of clay and limestone slopes with a southern exposure.  The wine is a blend of sixty percent Merlot, thirty-five percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Cabernet Sauvignon with an average of twenty-five-year-old vines.  The fruit is hand harvested, with maceration done in concrete and inox vats.  The juice is then matured for fifteen months in French oak, of which thirty percent is new.  The wine was a nice deep color with offerings of dark fruit and spice, mellow tannins and a nice lingering finish of terroir.  A few years ago, I had the good fortune to have had the 2010 vintage and it had mellowed and aged very well, and I believe that this wine will best served with a couple of years in the cellar as well.