Chateau Ferran and the silky tannins of Bordeaux wines

In wine world, as well as in everyday life, generalizing is usually wrong, and often ends up becoming dangerous.

However, keeping the "generalization" at a playful level, I like to associate each appellation with a typical aspect that characterizes it more than any other, and that I find more or less in every taste of mine.

For example, the freshness and dynamic grip that I find every time in Taurasi, or the rustic touch that is never lacking in Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (even in its best versions), or the ferrous/blood note typical of aged Brunello.

In Bordeaux wines, which I appreciate a lot- even if I am usually a "parochialist" who above all does not particularly like blends – despite the fact that we are talking about an extremely wide and varied area (with peaks of absolute excellence but also with often “cheesy” labels) the characteristic that I find in almost all cases is the fineness of the tannin.

A generous tannin - sometimes even important - but still velvety, incisive but at the same time subtle. Basically, a kind of patina, which envelops the palate during tasting, increasing on the one hand the pleasantness of the wine but at the same time helping to cleanse the palate in an almost perfect way.

I had yet another proof a few nights ago, in front of a 2016 Chateau Ferran, a Bordeaux from the pebbly and limestone soils of Pessac-Leognan, in the heart of the Graves area.

An interesting and well done wine, but certainly not a top player of the appellation, which - although still young and in some respects still behind in its development - has highlighted a dense but at the same time gentle tannin, almost as if it were an identity character of the wines from this large and varied region.

I don’t know, maybe it's just a suggestion that pops up in my mind every time I find myself in front of a Bordeaux, but I like to think, generalizing even where it shouldn't be, that there are characters that - as if by magic - every great terroir is able to give the wines that originate from it.

 

Pessac-Leognan Chateau Ferran 2016

Personal rating: 86/100

Grapes: 78% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon

Aging: 12 months in French oak barrels (30% new)

Price range: 18-22 €

 

TASTING

👀 Intact ruby, intense and dense, good clarity

👃Clean, intense and with good articulation, but still quite young and a little compressed, therefore characterized by not perfectly defined and distinct aromas. Berries, menthol note, lightly spiced, vanilla, earthy nuance in the background

👄Medium-bodied, spicy and round, fresh and with a tannin incisive but at the same time feature by an extremely fine grain. Medium persistence, clean and interesting finish, even if still lightly undefined.