Roc de Lussac
Lussac St Emilion 2007
Sainsbury's
£6.99
In his eminently readable guide (no Bible) to the wines of Bordeaux, Oz Clarke writes an interesting piece where he declares that his early sobbery towards the area's right bank wines such as St Emilion and Pomerol were, in effect, denying him of the intrinsic pleasure of what wine is all about - enjoying and celebrating life.
For many serious wine buffs, and here I mean seriously serious (dare I say it snobby) wine buffs, pursuing the highly revered left bank wines of the Medoc is the oenological equivalent of Tony Blair ploughing his ambitions and energies into Europe rather than the UK. His ten year obsession with the latter (rowdy, boisterous and full-on) was just a precursor to the more rewarding but arguably considerably more complex, leathery tannined subtlety offered by European politics.
So just to make my analogy finally come to life, left banks wines (Margaux, Paulliac, Haut Medoc etc) are more subtle and complex than their right bank counterparts, and take more time to reach their full potential - and even then they offer a distinct intellectual experience thanks to their predominant use of the lofty, occasionally stand-offish Cabernet Sauvignon grape. By contrast, the right bank wide boys from St Emilion, St Estephe etc prefer to strut their stuff with lavish blinged up Merlot which makes their wines exhuberant, bursting with fruit and melting with flavour.
Just one more analogy I can't resist - for left bank Bordeaux take as stuffy, stand offish merchant banker from stockbroker-belted Esher. For right bank Bordeaux take as cheeky little up start from the free thinking parts of Fulham and Putney - up for it and ready for a night on the vines.
So last night, Halloween, we had a nice little treat with a wine that is often on offer in Sainsbury's at this time of the year - Roc de Lussac, St Emilion - which was indeed a cheeky unbelted number which went well with a seriously hairy chested Le Rustique unpasteurised cambembert, chunks of French bread and a garlic dressed tomato and lettuce salad.
Harry wasn't drinking, thanks to a dodgy pizza in Clitheroe, but Mrs W was which meant we had equal share of a far too drinkable, gutsy, fruit bursting St Emilion. Thanks to the inside temperature of Mrs W's domain (3 degrees cooler than a sauna) the wine was alive in so many different ways with a really confident 'come and sniff me' aroma and a silky, red berry presentation on the palate. There's nothing overly special or indeed mind blowing about this wine, but it was exactly what I look for in a St Emilion, something that makes me feel and want to drink at least three bottles of the stuff in a single sitting. It's a wine that gets you talking about life, not a wine that gets you talking about itself.
It's exactly what I think Oz Clarke means about the difference between left and right. Last night we had a wine for an evening that was all about fun and frivolity - no one takes Halloween seriously at our place, even the token gesture bag of treat size Crunchies were left half abandoned by the door way, with one handed to the district nurse on the way out!
If you want a decent St Emilion that puts you in the mood for celebrating life (or indeed Halloween) this is the one to do it in bucket loads. It's the thinking person's party wine for people who want a good time without their belts on.
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (relaxed dinner party)
Value for Money: 10/10 (at the current discount price this is very good value)
Probability of buying again: 10/10 (while stocks last at this price. normal price of £13.99 is too dear for what you get)
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