My wine reviews are written from the point of view of a rank amateur with no formal training, based on a sample size of one bottle of unknown storage history. These notes are primarily for my own records and future reference and are published here for interest only.

Château Tassin is a red Bordeaux produced by the Gonfrier brothers operating out of the Château de Marsan (which doesn’t look much like a château from the air). This particular example is a 2006 bottle I picked up from Sainsbury’s in Leamington, sealed with a Gonfrier-branded plastic cork.

The vineyard is in the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux subregion of the Entre-Deux-Mers region, and the wine is sold under that AOC. It seems that other vintages may be sold under the Bordeaux Supérieur AOC, which is a pan-area designation indicating older vines than the generic Bordeaux AOC — in this case, 26 years average age.

Château Tassin is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cab Sauv. The producers describe it in a PDF document on their website thus (translated):

Château Tassin has a deep ruby appearance, a round body and ample courteous tannins which extend agreeably.

Tasting notes

This wine was indeed quite tannic (mouth-puckering) — I don’t think I have enough experience to identify “courteous” tannins from presumably-rude ones. The initial smell and taste was more artificial chemical than natural fruit, but not in an overly-unpleasant way. It suggested alcohol hand gel (seemingly a beverage in its own right), minus a bit of the clinical bite of that stuff.

The prime natural taste was of red grape skins (not that surprising for a drink made from red grapes, I suppose) with a hint of cherry acidity but not a cherry taste or smell — just as well, as I’m not a fan of cherries.

The wine also had a curious “hot” aftertaste a bit like whisky, more pronounced on a glass two days after opening. The overall effect was a bit superfluous and uninvolving, as if the true taste were avoiding my senses and slipping down unnoticed in the liquid. Curious.

Not a total waste of money, but I don’t think I’d buy another. However, all the vintage charts agree that the best 2006 red Bordeaux wines are a) not as good as the 2005, and b) not yet ready to drink. Even though this wine falls into the category of cheap, mass-produced supermarket wine, perhaps it just needed more time to mature.