Cuvée Hautes Terres, 2011, Chateau Fourcas Dupré, Listrac Médoc, Bordeaux, red wine from France

2 points

It is perhaps easier to write about something beautiful, good, and tasty — because when you write about something ugly, bad, and inedible, you can be driven by anger. Anger in turn is not a good guide and of course not good for the nerves. Often you cannot change it anyway, because usually the cause of annoyance or anger is in the past. However, fuck it! Yesterday I was angry and before others do too, this short text may at least be a well-intentioned warning.

Last night I opened a Cuvée Hautes Terres 2011 of Cháteau Froureas Durpé. Not a special or well-known wine from Bordeaux. No idea, frankly, where I got this bottle from.

Hautes Terres is a blend of Merlot (over 75%) and Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an exception for the Medoc, as it is where Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the majority of cuvees. Unfortunately, the wine shows no balance, it is inelegant, not even boring, but somehow taxing. It’s not tastefully fruity or characteristically dry. It has very strong tannins, which come from somewhere and do not become a taste experience. Of course, the whole thing tastes also of tobacco and even of eucalyptus, but everything is really unbalanced. To make it sound not terrible now: the wine is not underground, of course, it’s not that I have to spit it out — and I will not put it on a list entitled “The Worst Wines in the World.” However, the wine costs at least something between € 15 and € 25 the bottle, and at this price range you would expect something better. That is the reason for my annoyance. For such a price, I can get much, much better wine!

Well, I certainly have nothing against mineral wines, which I almost prefer over the rather heavy reds from Bordeaux, that cause the taste buds to stick, for sheer sweetness, fruit and moisture. Nevertheless, no, the Cuvée Hautes Terres is not good. Very simply.

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Chateau Fourcas Dupre is located in Medoc. I do not know the winery and now I will not bother to find out more since I cannot recommend this wine further. In any case, it has to do with any exceptional winemakers, even the winery’s own webpage does not provide much information: www.fourcasdupre.com