CHÂTEAU D’ARGAN | Médoc | Cru Bourgeois | 2018
cabernet sauvignon | merlot

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Today we are going to review a classic, ‘left bank‘ Bordeaux blend from the famous Médoc sub-region – Médoc Cru Bourgeois 2018 by Château d’Argan. This wine is a classic blend of two of the region’s most famous grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon and merlot (also known as merlot noir in Bordeaux), where cabernet sauvignon forms the wine’s main body and structure, while merlot adds up-front richness and rounds up the final blend, delivering some much desired smoothness on the finish. Château d’Argan is classified as a ‘Cru Bourgeois du Médoc‘ appellation wine since 1932. The name of this distinction came from the bourgeois who were the inhabitants of the “village” of Bordeaux and who became the owners of the best lands of the region. Made with cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes that were sourced from vines planted on clay and limestone-rich soils in the Médoc appellation, this wine has been aged in french oak barriques. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep ruby color
clarity: hazy garnet shades

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & savory
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits
__red fruits: redcurrant | cranberry
__black fruits: blackcurrant | black plum | black cherry | blackberry
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | savory | earthy
__spice: cloves | peppercorn | tonka seeds
__oak: sun-dried oakwood | toasted oak | black tea | sweet tobacco
__savory: iron | veal | brown olive
__earthy: black soil | dust | pencil lead
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: medium+
alcohol: medium+
tannin: high
__grip: green
balance: fair
__dominant: phenolic bitterness
body: rough | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: red & black fruits
fruit character: underripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium
aftertaste: bitter-seedy

//Scoring
CHÂTEAU D’ARGAN | Médoc | Cru Bourgeois | 2018
variety: cabernet sauvignon | merlot
country: France
region: Bordeaux | Médoc
rating: 91.1

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 2 or 3 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of France and, with a total of 91.1 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a rough, austere and aggressive Bordeaux wine, with an unbalanced palate yet a very appealing and rich nose. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore we would recommend to give it at least 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to round up those sharp edges and settle down its austerity. On the nose it brings a mixture of ripe red and black fruits in the foreground, followed by a savory background and some expressive, oaky-earthy notes in between. On the palate the wine delivers flat acidity, seedy-rough tannins and a firm touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into a bitter-seedy and very rough aftertaste. All in all, this is a very green and youthful Bordeaux blend that in its current state lacks harmony and balance on the palate – it definitely requires a bit more bottle ageing time, that said, this is not a wine that might be considered age-worthy. Judging by the wine’s structure and its angularity, we would recommend to pair it wine with spicy or grilled meats, like for example a peppercorn-crusted tomahawk steak or a rosemary-garlic flank steak. Santé!

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