Bordeaux Friday: Chateau-Direct 90pt 2004 La Vieille Cure, Only $24.98!

La Vieille Cure has become one of the darlings of Bordeaux over the past thirteen years going back to the 2000 vintage when Robert Parker gave the estate its first 90-point score.  His first sentence of his review was “Wow, what a sexy wine!”.  Since that review this chateau has never looked back.

We’ve told the story before. Back in the ‘old days’ Fronsac used to be one of the more prestigious appellations in Bordeaux.  All the best-looking chateaux were there, it was close to the big city (Libourne) so your horses wouldn’t tire heading out for the day and the wines were actually really good. But the phylloxera epidemic in the 1800’s, combined with an opportunity to grow more vineyards closer to home (helloooo Pomerol!) kind of took the wind out of Fronsac’s sails and made it seem almost like a forgotten memory.

Starting in the mid-80’s those faded memories and old, forgotten chateaux started to emerge from their century of hibernation.  One of the first major investors back into Fronsac were two Americans who got together, formed a company and bought La Vieille Cure, one of Fronsac’s premier chateau and vineyards.  The new owners knew what they were getting (stealing?), a great terroir with sloping vineyards facing southeast, as well as an abundance of older vines that survived the killer frost of ’56.

The new owners also set about finding some great winemaking, eventually hooking up with Michel Rolland and his team seen as Michel was just over the hill tending to his own Fronsac vineyards at Fontenil.

The resulting wines produced over the last decade have helped to turn the reputation of Fronsac around and made La Vieille Cure acquire something of a cult following.  The label enjoys a fine reputation here in the states and we often refer to it as the ‘Fronsac Lynch Bages’ because most Bordeaux aficionados here in the states seem to know the label and tend to buy it every year, ‘score’ or not.

So when we tasted this 2004 at a supplier’s event in Bordeaux last year we were really hoping for the best.  The 2004 vintage, especially when it comes to the Merlot on the Right Bank, has proven to be one of the most under-rated vintages of the past two decades for sure.  Every time we come back to it, the year provides a seamless, joyful, balanced, fruit-forward bottle of wine with lots of character and nothing really sticking out.  In a word, harmonious.

This wine was no exception.  It’s great right now.  The tannins finely woven through though still plentiful, the wine itself has great energy, conveying a steady stream of cherry, herb, spice and meat flavors. Youthful, yet mature. In a word, perfect.

Robert Parker writes, “As was the 2003, this is another big time sleeper of the vintage. The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2004 offers a sweet perfume of framboise, black cherry liqueur, cedar, and spice. Supple-textured, medium to full-bodied, expansive, and savory with superb purity and texture, it can be drunk now and over the next 10-12 years. This property has been on a qualitative roll and still remains one of Bordeaux’s finest values. 90 points.”

And, as always, this beautifully made Fronsac never disappoints.  There’s something to be said for dedicated owners with a passion to make the best.   But more importantly… as great as the wines from Fronsac have gotten over the last decade, the prices remain the same, including this world class, perfectly-aged, ex-chateau example!  

At $24.98 a bottle (the same price as the current release!) it’s one of the finest wine deals on the planet.