Gentlemanly Claret from Moulis-en-Médoc
This past Friday night my wife, Cinnamon, treated me to a lovely steak and claret dinner at home. She prepared a prime top sirloin in the cast iron pan, her excellent empress rice, and also served some wok-fried green beans. I decanted the 1998 Haut-Franquet Moulis to go with it. I woke up inspired to write about it—it was a great experience.
Bordeaux is an old-fashioned place. The Seguin-Bacquey family, who owns this small property, are a very old-fashioned bunch and have no website that I could find. This family also owns Bel-Air Lagrave in the same little village of Moulis, which is another property that provides great value for the money. What we do know is that the Haut-Franquet château has about 17 acres, tiny by Médoc standards, and sits in the middle of gravely Moulis, between Poujeaux and Chasse-Spleen, and is planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon. Moulis itself lies between Margaux and St-Julien. Even though production is small, around 25,000 bottles, Clyde has managed to get several lots of this wine thanks to his great connections in Bordeaux.
I found this wine to be an absolute gentleman, light by Bordeaux standards and suave in every way. The tannin has completely resolved after 22 years and shows none of the stern structure that the 1998 vintage was judged for out of barrel. Quite the opposite, after 40 minutes of air in the decanter, this wine had amazing silky texture, but without any touch of heaviness. It also has great refreshment without any shrill notes. It was facile à boire, easy to drink, and I loved the subtle, cool currant flavor of the Cabernet, the leafy aged character, and most of all the gravely mineral flavors. This gravel component is something that one rarely finds without spending a lot more money, and had me coming back to the glass again and again… Until sadly, the bottle was all gone.
At $20 a bottle, this wine is an absolute steal for current drinking, and if you like it, it should have no problem lasting another 5 or so years if you decide to buy a case. Once again, Clyde has shown that one of the greatest perks of working at K&L is access to his fantastic deals on older Bordeaux. My case is going in my cellar today!
A toast to you,
- Gary Westby