Commanderie
February 3, 2026Commanderie de Bordeaux Manchester. A Tasting of Fresh Bordeaux wines and a Bistro Supper, on 30th January 2026
Nicola McLoughlin - Echanson
On Friday 30th January we were joined at Manchester Hall by 8 growers from Bordeaux brought together by our old friend Nathalie Escurédo, for a Tasting of a new style of wines – ‘Fresh Bordeaux’. If this wasn’t exciting enough, the wines were sent to the other end of the country by the courier the day before and only reached Manchester Hall an hour before the trade arrived for a separate tasting. Commandeur John Hodgkinson donned his Superman outfit and made the final delivery!
At the Trade tasting we were joined by representatives from the wine industry, local restaurants, hotels, retailers, and industry experts.
Members attended a separate tasting pre-Dinner. This was a fantastic opportunity to taste a very wide range of Fresh Bordeaux, sparkling, white, rosé, clairet, claret and red. These wines are chiefly aimed at the younger market who don’t want expensive wines that need to be laid down. These are fruity wines given a brief maceration so the tannins are silky and they are ready to drink young. On tasting, the wines were of course very approachable but also good quality and perfect for sharing as Nathalie explained. Maître, Colin Smith, welcomed everyone to our Bistro style dinner and thanked our French guests for making the journey and introducing us to this new style of wines.
We dived into the starter with some enthusiasm. This was Rillettes of Pork with cornichon ketchup and silver skinned onion. We drank a WS Generation Graves Blanc from 2021. Commandeur Rowley explained that while the year was difficult for reds, the whites came out well. Semillon is the majority grape and provided the fullness to a satisfying wine. Some bottles had an unmistakable aroma of the Sauvignon Blanc in the blend (about a third), others did not. The palate was full and long. Both presentations were lovely and stood up well to the strongly flavoured accompaniments of the dish.
Our main course was a great favourite, a rich and earthy Coq au Vin, with Dauphinoise potato, fine beans and leek. With this delicious dish we were very fortunate to enjoy La Croix Beaucaillou 2010 A.O.C. St Julien. Commandeur Waterhouse explained that this is not a ‘second wine’ but a ‘Second Label’. This wine is 100% made from a dedicated vineyard. As of the 2010 vintage La Croix was given a full makeover, with dramatically increased plot-by-plot selection, up to 70% new oak and more obvious positioning as a stand-alone bottling. Today this cuvée is a terroir-focused cuvée, from vines situated inland of those used for the grand vin, its position comparable perhaps to Château Talbot and it stands apart from the wine of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. The wine was a superb match for the dish and the tannins were smooth and the finish rounded and long.
The cheese course was the most delightful Époisses, served in classic style with French bread, grapes, celery and almond. The cheese was in perfect condition and was ably matched with Château de Sales 2012 Pomerol A.O.C. This wine had a wonderful nose and was full of ripe red fruits and subtle oak notes.
Decadence was the order of the day for dessert – white chocolate, pistachio and raspberry profiteroles! These were paired with Château Suduiraut 2010 1er Cru A.O.C. Sauternes. Commandeur Edwards noted that this wine was greatly enjoyed by all and if not definitely the best wine of the night was certainly one of the best two. Members noted hazelnuts, honey and marmalade on the palate and one person mentioned that the nose was reminiscent of and old cognac.
Maître thanked everyone who had been involved in the preparations for the evening and all the Chefs and Front of House staff who had looked after us so well. It was certainly a wonderful evening, and we were so fortunate to be graced with the company of our friends from Bordeaux.
