Château Camensac 1996
A trip to Bournemouth last year resulted in me bringing home the best red wine I ever drank, a 1982 Camensac.
Browsing through Majestic the other day, I spotted the 1996 vintage at £19.99. Only one course of action was available to me, and for once, my bank manager obliged.
It felt right to open this on the anniversary of the barbecue that saw the 1982’s fifteen minutes of fame (and I was surprised that it lasted 15 minutes, so cherished was it by the St Helens massive).
This 1996 Haut-Médoc, at 12 years old, is surely drinking well by now? I was surprised at the amount of tannins still attacking my upper gums, but, consumed contemporaneously with simply barbecued lamb chops, it was excellent. Liquorice, blackcurrant, cedar and parsnip – yum. 15 minutes later, it was gone. With only one bottle in my basket, we had to wave goodbye to the French nobility and make friends with an impudent teenager from the New World.
I am no expert in these matters but I sense that Château Camensac 1996 will keep a good while longer and I shall probably pop back to Majestic for another couple of bottles to squirrel away in my combine harvester.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Good Morning Alastair!
Re your comment on my blog on Chasse Spleen – I thought I had replied to you but it seems my response got lost in tech land somewhere! Apologies if you did not receive it. In answer to your question – yes the labels of Camensac do look like those of Chasse Spleen but to my knowledge they aren’t related. I have a lable of Chasse Spleen I could send you if you are interested in a closer look. I am enjoying reading your blogs – would you like to exchange links?
Cheers!
Nick
September 21st, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Camensac 1985 (then it was called “de Camencac”) was my first purchase of fine wine. Quite a shock to see the new, very modern label, not quite like Chasse Spleet at all – but I read at the back label that it is now owned by … Chasse Spleen!