Chateau Neurin 1998 AOC Bordeaux

Ok, its another Bordeaux wine for tonight's dinner, which I must say, was not very well paired with the dishes, as this bordeaux clashes quite strongly with the seafood such as the fish, cuttlefish as well as the vegetables. But of course, red wine : white meat is always a risk, so this one was a failure.

This bordeaux is from the Haut Medoc Appellation, which is basically more generic Bordeaux wine and is really quite light (12%). Coming from the district of Medoc, it is more southwardly, right below Margaux and is relatively known for producing value for money quality Bordeaux wines. From the Jancis Robinson journal, she states that 1998 was a very hot August followed by rain during the harvest, so there are riper grapes and more fruit characters.

APPEARANCE

It has a light dull ruby color with an attractive translucent core and clear rim. The color really shows its age and quite a dull clarity with evident sediments in the bottle.

NOSE

A very prominent dark fruit characters of violet, blackcurrants and berries, with interesting oak characters of dark moth balls, musty cupboard and forest woods. A very round nose of fruits & oak but has an interesting scent of metallic iron rust.

PALATE
The very light body, of course, gives really subtle tannin structure but has a good balance of aged acidity and fruit characters. The oak takes a background in the palate with just hints of rounded oak in the back palate. It has a surprisingly "hot" alcohol taste though.

CONCLUSION / EVOLUTION

A decent bordeaux, but not really much to talk about. Decent and pleasant to drink, with more prominent fruit characters of wild berries.