Croix de Marsan COSTCO 1/2 Case

Last month I was walking through my local COSTCO when I noticed an end display of cardboard boxes in the wine section.  The sign "$30 Bordeaux 1/2 Case" caught my eye.  $5 a bottle?  That's pretty good for a generic Bordeaux, why not?  So I bought the 1/2 case of Croix de Marsan Bordeaux 2011, Bordeaux A.O.C., and opened a bottle that night. It did not disappoint.

Don't be intimidated by "élevé en fût de chêne"- just means that it was stored / aged (élevé = raised) in oak barrels.  60% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon (as all Bordeaux A.O.C. wines are supposed to be). "On the palate the attack is supple, the tannins are round and velvety" - sure, I would agree with that.  I did not aerate the bottle, but I did let it "breathe" for a good 20 minutes before tasting the first glass.  "Can be kept for 5 years" - well, it's not going to reach 5 months.

Bottled by a negotiant L.C.D.R. A F-33550 Gironde France, and imported to the US by Misa Imports, Dallas TX.  For $5 a bottle, it's a good red table wine, negotiant bottled or not.