Adventures in Wine > Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the world’s most aristocratic wine region and is particularly famous for its red and sweet white wines. Many come from the great Chateaux in regions such as the Medoc, Pomerol, St Emilion and the Graves and include household names such as Chateaux Latour and Lafite.

Bordeaux’s temperate, maritime climate also produces dry whites. Bordeaux’s best known red variety is Cabernet Sauvignon although, surprisingly, Merlot has more vines planted. The whites are from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon varieties. (Financial Times)

Chateau Cap de Merle

Winery: Chateau Cap de Merle
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Lussac St.-Emilion

Cap de Merle

Chateau Cap de Merle is a delicious St-Emilion that represents excellent value. Owners and winemakers Alain and Jean-Marie Bel use no wood in vinifying Cap de Merle, so the pure, rich, spicy Merlot fruit come through directly upon tasting. The winery’s excellent plateau vineyards on clay and sandstone soils assures optimal ripeness of fruit and supple tannins. The Merlot and Cabernet are vinified separately, and are assembled in the spring. Cap de Merle is a lush, round, balanced wine with notes of dark fruit, plums, and chocolate. The wine is meant to be enjoyed young (3-4 years after the vintage) but it can also be cellared for up to 10 years. Cap de Merle is a most versatile and enjoyable St-Emilion. Since it comes from the Lussac area, just outside St-Emilion itself, Cap de Merle represents exceptional value in Merlot-based Bordeaux. Chateau Cap de Merle is a fine match for London Broil with sautéed mushrooms, roast veal and pork and Cajun cuisine.

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Chateau Grimard

Winery: Chateau Grimard
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Pomerol

Bordeaux

Chateau Grimard is a small, three generation-old family estate located in the commune of Lugon, just outside the Fronsac region on the right-bank of Bordeaux. The vineyard lies on a south-east slope, which is ideal for attaining full ripeness. The vines have an average age of 25 years. Chateau Grimard is a classic Bordeaux, offering a deep red-purple color, a lush bouquet, and ripe plummy-cassis fruit with good structure. It is a wine with more definition and character than most other petite chateaux, which is in part due to the excellent location of the property, where the Merlot grape thrives in the area’s clay soils. Chateau Grimard is vinified and matured in stainless steel tanks to ensure that it gives immediate pleasure at the table. It is a versatile, food-friendly wine that can be enjoyed with fowl and red meat dishes.

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Chateau Jonqueyres

Winery: Chateau Jonqueyres
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Bordeaux Superieur

Bordeaux Superieur

Built in 1685, Chateau Jonqueyres (zhankear) has been the home of the Audy family for over a century. The estate is located at the summit of a hillside in the Entre Deux Mers region, with ideal clay-limestone soil. The present owner, Anne-Marie Audy-Arcaute, a fourth generation Audy, has recently rebuilt the cellars and upgraded the cuverie with new stainless steel tanks.

Together with the longtime cellar-master Antonio Vierra, Anne-Marie produces a rich, velvety-textured wine. The grapes are harvested by hand as late as possible for optimal maturity and are meticulously sorted to remove any imperfect fruit. The fermentation and vatting process is extended to three weeks for maximum extraction of color and flavor.

Ch. Jonqueyres is matured in oak casks, one third of which are new each year. The wine is vinified so as to deliver the maximum expression of fruit with a fine balance of concentration, ripe tannins and a discreet touch of oak. In the words of Robert Parker, Chateau Jonqueyres makes “high quality wines that can compete with more famous estates.”

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Chateau La Gatte

Winery: Chateau La Gatte
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Bordeaux

La Gatte La Butte
Domaine de Montalon

Located in the appellations Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur, Château La Gatte was founded in 1646.

A mere 358 years later, in 2004, the estate was purchased by Hèléne and Michael Affatato. Hèléne, a Bordeaux native, came from Château Latour, where she held an executive position in Public Relations and Sales. Michael, an advertising executive turned wine afficionado, found the perfect marriage for his skills at Chapoutier, where he directed Sales and Marketing for the UK and American markets.

Now the couple have dedicated themselves exclusively to their exciting new enterprise, sharing responsibilities in the vineyard, winery, and office.

The property itself sits atop a famous limestone ridge, which is shared by some of St.-Emilion’s most noble chateaux. The west facing vines overlook the Dordogne River, and benefit from maximum sunlight. To quote Château Latour, “To make a Grand Vin, the vines must see the river.”

After tasting Château La Gatte, we think you will agree that these vines must have an amazing view.

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Chateau Lamothe Bouscaut

Winery: Lamothe Bouscaut
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Pessac-Leognan

Pessac Leognan White

Lamothe Bouscaut is the second wine of Chateau Bouscaut, the large Pessac-Leognan estate located on the main road from Bordeaux heading south towards Sauternes. The estate was modernized in the late 1960s by its manager, Jean-Bernard Delmas for its American owner and was subsequently sold to Lucien Lurton in 1980. In 1992, Lucien Lurton gave the property to his daugter, Sophie, who is the present owner. The vineyard is on ridges of clay and gravel soil on a limestone base with excellent drainage and exposure. The vines average 30 years of age.

Chateau Le Cros

Winery: Chateau Le Cros
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Saint Emilion

Saint Emilion

Chateau Le Cros is ideally located on the gravelly plateau in the north-west section of the St-Emilion appellation, in the vicinity of Chateau Figeac. The property is just 2.7 hectares in size and the vines average 30 years of age. Only 660 cases are produced annually. The winery is now under the direction of the Vedrenne group based at Chateau Fleur de Jean Gue in Lalande de Pomerol. The goal here is to produce a St-Emilion wine that is like a well-polished jewel.

The soil of the vineyard is a mixture of limestone, gravel and clay. This terroir, along with ideal exposition, combines to ensure optimal and consistent ripening. Yields are kept to a low 40 hectolitres per hectare. During the summer, green harvesting and leaf stripping are done as needed. The grapes are hand-harvested and are then meticulously sorted to ensure that only perfectly ripe and healthy fruit is accepted. Vinification is carried out in modern, temperature-controlled tanks with 2 pigeages per day, to attain the maximum of extraction. Chateau Le Cros is then aged in oak casks for 14 months, of which 10% are new, 40% are one year old, and 50% are two years old. The barrel regime is calibrated to ensure that the wine is balanced and supple on release, yet not over powered by oak.

Chateau Le Cros has a full, garnet color, a bouquet of allspice, and rich, dark fruit flavors and a touch of dark chocolate on the finish. It is a very accessible St-Emilion with a generous palate and stylish length. Ch. La Cros is equally enjoyable for current drinking — presently with red meats, roast winter vegetables and ripe cheeses – and will develop further with 3-5 years of bottle age.

Chateau Le Vivier

Winery: Chateau Le Vivier
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Medoc

Medoc

This new discovery is the finest Medoc value in the market. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, Chateau Le Vivier is packed with supple, dark, ripe cassis fruit; this is the hallmark of the great 1998 vintage in the Medoc. The vineyard is ideally situated on a gentle slope on the northern Medoc’s central gravelly plateau, in the commune of Blaignan, about 3 kilometers inland from the Gironde. Chateau Le Vivier is fermented and aged in stainless steel to preserve the fresh and rich fruit and supple texture. Chateau Le Vivier is a very versatile wine and an excellent choice with grilled and roast meats. It is ready for current enjoyment upon release. Chateau Le Vivier is a perfect introduction to Medoc wines, due to its modern style Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend and vinification method that emphasizes the expression of accessible fruit.

Prieure d'Arche

Winery: Prieure d’Arche
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-region: Sauternes

Sauternes

Prieure d’Arche is a vividly fruity and lively Sauternes that is intended for current enjoyment. It is made from 15- year-old vines at the Chateau d’Arche estate. The Chateau has one of the finest terroirs in Sauternes, and is classified as a Second Growth. It is located on a hill above the village of Sauternes on gravel and limestone-clay soil that is ideal for ripening and the development of botrytis. Pieure d’Arche is a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are all hand harvested at a yield level of 20 hectolitres per hectare in three passes through the vineyard. The wine ferments in stainless steel tanks and then ages for six months in 2-year-old barrels. It is bottled after one year. Prieure d’Arche combines the richness, finesse, and vivacity of a great Sauternes and represents outstanding value for the appellation.