Chateau Talbot

Chateau Talbot was supposedly named after a man who never owned the property. John Talbot was the Early of Shrewsbury, and he was a soldier sent by King Henry VI to sort out the rebellious French during the English rule in Aquitaine. There was the rumour that in Castillon John went into battle unarmed, having sworn never to bear arms against the French after they had released him from a previous captivity. In the end, John was defeated and met his death, and the English army eventually retreated and Bordeaux was French once more.

In the 18^th century the property came into the hands of Henri Raymond d’Aux de Lescout, who later acquired the title of Marquis d’Aux-Lally. The estate continued to be under the family throughout the 19^th century, and it was known as Talbot d’Aux, with the wine ranked as a fourth growth in the 1855 classification.

It was sold to Claverie in 1899, and then to Desire Cordier in 1917, with the Cordier family also owning Lafaurie-Peyraguey and part of Gruaud-Larose. The estate was passed to his son Georges, then to grandson Jean, before ending in the current owners, Jean’s daughters Lorraine and Nancy Bignon-Cordier. Lorraine passed away in 2001, and Nancy and her husband Jean-Paul Bignon are now running the estate.

The vineyards of Chateau Talbot dominate St-Julien, with an impressive 107 hectares. The soils are typically gravels, and about 102 hectares are planted with red varieties, mostly of Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), followed by Merlot (26%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (3%). There are also 5 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

The vine density is 7700 vines per ha, Guyot-trained, and averaging 35 years. Hand harvested, the final yield is about 45 hl/ha. The fruit goes over a sorting table before through a ventilated tunnel to dry the fruit, which is seldomly done in Bordeaux. It is then fermented by plot, using wooden vats or stainless steel, with temperature control.

The Cordier family invested in constructing a new, modern barrel cellar. The oak used for elevage is 50-60% new, with the grand vin bottled under Chateau Talbot, accounting for 50-60% of production, equivalent to 30000 cases. The second wine is Connetable Talbot, which was introduced in 1960s but many claimed 1979 was the first vintage. There is also a white wine, one of the few whites of the Medoc, known as Caillou Blanc.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of medium ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and black cherries, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar and toast, maturity notes of cigar box, kernel notes of dark chocolate. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and well integrated texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and dark cherries, oak notes of vanilla, pungent spice of liquorice, kernel notes of chocolate, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality St-Julien with an intense and complex nose, showing good development but still balancing well with good fruit and oak characters, the wine has also a nice palate, with a balanced profile of good concentration and reasonable complexity. The length however is a bit too mediocre, but overall still a very nice wine which is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.