Wines I'm drinking: 2008 Château Ballan-Larquette Bordeaux Blanc, 2009 Bordeaux Rosé

I recently reviewed the 2007 Château Ballan-Larquette Bordeaux in these pages. Yesterday I found a 2008 Bordeaux Blanc and a 2009 Bordeaux Rosé from the same Château, again at Beverages and More, and decided to give them a try. Tasting notes follow.

2008 Château Ballan-Larquette Bordeaux Blanc--a classic Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend. The wine was a very pale straw color with a fresh, yeasty, oaky nose that also had hints of pear blossom and later lemons and perhaps limes as well. Nice, appetizing scent. Clean, dry, and correct on the palate, but very light in body, of only moderate length, and ultimately fairly bland. There were some lingering woody hints on the finish. Good acidity. Not nuanced, but refreshing. Simple, grapey flavors. Crisp, but not distinctive in any way. I would call this the least successful of the three Château Ballan-Larquette wines I tasted. I don't think I'd go out of my way to buy this again. Having said that, this is the kind of wine that is excellent with strongly flavored or spicy Asian foods--Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese. On sale for $8.99 a bottle at Beverages and More (regularly $9.99 at that store, about $14.99 elsewhere).  


2009 Château Ballan-Larquette Bordeaux Rosé. The best of the three wines in my view. A rosé of classic Bordeaux grapes--Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, it was a very pretty coral pink. Pink wines always look wonderful in a sweating glass. Very attractive nose, but hard to pin down--something floral (but what?), something fruity (raspberries, perhaps?). Later the fruit seemed more suggestive of strawberries. Later, it tasted like strawberries when--and this was rather surprising--tasted along with a good Munster (the stinky soft cheese from Alsace, not Kraft slices). On the palate it was suggestive of honey, but subtly sweet--sweet with fruit, not the sweetness of residual sugar. It was in fact quite dry for a rosé, well balanced with acidity, and taut--not at all cloying. There was a maple-like flavor component--but, again, I don't mean to suggest the sweetness of syrup. Overall, the impression was one of crispness--as it should be in this sort of wine. Longer finish than the white, more body, more flavor, with a good, slightly tannic, slightly bitter finish. Tasty everyday wine for summer quaffing. On sale for $8.99 a bottle at Beverages and More (regularly $9.99 at that store, about $14.99 elsewhere). Recommended at the Beverages and More sale price.