Le Crock

Saint-Estèphe 2003

International Bordeaux-Style wines

Sold for

ZAR 3 283
Lot 189
  • Le Crock; Saint-Estèphe; 2003; 4 (1 x 4); 750ml


Lot Estimate Change Currency
ZAR 3 000 - 5 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 3 283
Location
Wine Storage
Delivery
Delivery within South Africa included
Shipping

About this Item

Saint-Estèphe 2003
4 (1 x 4) 750ml
The 2003 Left Bank harvest was defined by a historic summer heatwave across Western Europe, producing wines of exceptional ripeness, high alcohol and full-throttle concentration, with Saint-Estèphe’s clay-dominant soils retaining moisture particularly well through the drought. Château Le Crock’s 2003 earned 90/100 from Neal Martin, who found it ostentatious and fleshy with plenty of prune-tinged fruit and a bold, assertive finish, and 17/20 from Julia Harding MW, who found it meaty and poised on the palate with a lovely fresh backbone and fine, rounded structure. Le Crock is one of the most nobly situated Cru Bourgeois estates in Saint-Estèphe, sandwiched between Château Montrose and Château Cos d’Estournel on exceptional gravelly clay soils, under the ownership of the Cuvelier family since 1903, the same family who acquired Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien in 1920. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Provenance

The late David Brice was a respected wine connoisseur, collector and co-founder of Brice and Burnett – The Fine Wine Specialists (formerly Wine Cellar). His lifelong passion for wine from all corners of the world wine, and generosity, helped develop a culture of fine wine in South Africa and beyond. Always with value and authenticity in mind, the collection spans a wide range of styles from leading producers and diverse regions. The wines were professionally imported under refrigeration and carefully stored at Brice and Burnett (formerly Wine Cellar) thereafter. Many of the producers are not available in South Africa and provide an excellent buying opportunity.

David studied and tasted Bordeaux more than any other region and he purchased en-primeur, or pre-release, for more than 3 decades. He bought the great vintages, loved magnums, and enjoyed the sweet wines of Sauternes. The cellar contains the famous names, but also highly regarded but lesser-known Chateaux and appellations.

For more detailed information on the lots, please feel free to contact Roland Peens (roland@winecellar.co.za). Roland spent many years sharing and enjoying these wines with David Brice and is happy to provide further insight into the collection.

Critics Ratings

“A touch of over-maturity on the nose with prune-tinged black fruit and plenty of undergrowth aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent, fleshy, almost ostentatious entry. There is plenty of fruit here, good volume with a bold, assertive, spicy finish.” - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 90/100 (May 2013)

“A little meaty and bloody on the nose. Then really poised and tense on the palate. Fine, rounded but with a lovely fresh backbone.” - Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (May 2009)

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