Château Coufran 2010 (Bordeaux) - Wine Review

After enjoying the excellent 2009 Château Coufran last year, tonight's red wine review is the latest edition and from another legendary vintage. This red wine from the Left Bank of Bordeaux arrived at the LCBO as part of the theme on Fine Wines for Festive Entertaining in the December 2nd LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.

It is produced by the renowed Château Coufran, an estate situated in the Haut-Médoc appellation of Bordeaux, and has a long history going back to the 18th century. While the Château changed hands many times in its earlier years, the most notable exchanges occurred from the late 19th century, when the wine merchants families of Cabarrus and Célérier purchased the estate and invested in the Médoc wine region.

Château Coufran is currently the property of the Miailhe family. It was acquired by Louis Miailhe in 1924 and he was responsible for the current spelling of the estate - the Château was previously known as "Cousran" and "Couffran". Upon acquiring the property, Louis undertook a major redevelopment project in the vineyard, which included planting mainly Merlot - a grape which was more charming and highly appreciated at the time. The Miailhe family were wine brokers in France, dating back to the 19th century and continued to 1970, while winemaking was also in the family with Jean Miailhe, son of Louis, the winemaker at Coufran for a period of time.

Today, it is Jean's two children - Marie Cécile Vicaire and Eric Miailhe - who run the estate. Château Coufran is certified to Certified Environmentally Friendly Agriculture in Aquitaine (AREA) level 2, and High Environmental Value (HVE) level 3. In the vineyard, vegetation cover is encouraged between rows, while leaves are thinned after flowering, and bunches are thinned to allow the fruit to ripen in the best conditions possible. There is great attention to detail during the harvest period to ensure that the harvest quality is optimal, while the sorting of grapes is also nuanced based on quality, terroir, and vine age, among other things. In the winery, the grapes are vinified using traditional Bordeaux techniques, in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Work in the tanks and maceration is according to the vintage and the desired style of wine. After alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, the blend of the first wine (i.e. their top bottle, which is this wine) is decided on after tasting and selection by their consultant oenologist, Mr Eric Boissenot. By using only a portion of their entire production to create their top wine, they ensure that the atypical grape variety blend they use at Coufran is expressed to the fullest, to produce a great wine that is ideal for aging and ranks among the best in the appellation each year. The wine is then matured in French oak barrels for 12 months, with 25% replaced with new barrels every year. The wine is blended one last time to ensure homogeneity just prior to fining and bottling. The wines are then stored on-premise, in air-conditioned rooms to optimize the ageing process, allowing them to release ready-to-drink wines after being aged in perfect conditions.

This red wine is crafted with 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend which is unique for Left Bank wines that are normally crafted primarily with Cabernet Sauvignon. Located in the village of Saint-Seurin, the property is uniquely known as the Pomerol of Médoc because of the predominance of the Merlot grape variety. Saint-Seurin is located in the canton of Pauillac, within the AOC of Haut-Médoc and borders the commune of Saint-Estephe to the south, running along the river. The average age of the vines is 45 years old, and they are planted across a single 76 -hectare block, on soil that is composed of different types of gravel. To craft this wine, the grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats, followed by ageing in tight-grain French oak barrels for 12 months, with 25% renewed each year.

While the 2009 vintage was considered legendary right from the get-go, the 2010 growing season got off to a slow start. However, things picked up in 2010 during the beautiful summer with warm and hot days from June to August, and combined with cool nights that helped preserve fresh acidity. The growing season overall in 2010 was largely cool and dry, producing small, thick-skinned berries with perfect phenolic ripeness, producing wines that were concentrated and expressive, with very fine tannins. The result was yet another legendary vintage that was markedly different from the 2009s, with the 2010s considered classical and structured. Let's see how this 2010 Bordeaux red wine is testing tonight...

Tasting Note:

CHÂTEAU COUFRAN 2010 - AC Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France (#325555) (XD) - $43.95
From vines averaging 45 years old, this is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The richly aromatic nose of medium-high to high intensity is fragrant, sweet spiced, and maturing with a lovely bouquet of stewed dark berries and Damson plums, dried floral and cherries, leather, and forest floor. On the full-ish bodied palate it offers maturing flavours of dark berry, red and black cherry, fine sweet spices, some dried cherry and florals, savoury forest floor, and leather. Acids are juicy and succulent, while the fine, dusty textured tannins are structured, and still a few more years away from fully resolving. Intriguing salty and leafy herb notes on the mid-palate. Complex and still evolving, with dried cherry and mineral notes lingering on the long, juicy finish. Wow! Provides immense pleasure now, and should continue to evolve nicely over the next 5+ years. Highly recommended buy! Score: 93 pts

Other lovely wines from the Château Coufran portfolio can be ordered through their Agent - Connexion Oenophilia / Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.