Right Bank

The Rising Star of Saint Emilion – Tasting a Vertical of Chateau La Croizille 2007 – 2024…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

La Croizille is a wonderfully situated Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé Chateau that was acquired by the Belgian De Schepper – De Mour family in 1996 and whose wines are sold mostly in the Benelux. The 5 hectares of vines belonging to the Château benefit from the same remarkable soils, on the borders of the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion in the commune of Saint-Laurent des Combes, as famous chateaux such as Tetre Roteboeuf, Rocheyron and Troplong Mondot.

After 1996, the De Schepper family commenced on a large investment spree, bringing the estate into the modern winemaking era, combining its sought-after terroir with high-end technology and traditional know-how to create a wine with great opulence, finesse, modernity, and personality under the watchful eye of highly respected head winemaker and technical director, Jean-Michel Garcion.

Technical Director Jean Michel Garcion

I have been following their wines since I was introduced to the chateau in 2014 when I travelled to Bordeaux to run the 30th Bordeaux Marathon, and I can confirm that all the hard work and focus applied by Jean Michel and his team has paid off handsomely with both Chateau La Croizille and the neighbouring property, Chateau Tour Baladoz, also owned by the De Schepper family, being upgraded from Saint Emilion Grand Cru status up to the Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé classification commencing with the 2022 vintage. A hard earned and well-deserved recognition of the continuity of excellence at these two high quality Chateaux.

The Chateau La Croizille on the limestone cote.

So to celebrate this momentous reclassification, I have updated my vertical tasting notes for La Croizille to include not only all the bottles I retasted at the Chateau in September 2023, but also fittingly, to include the latest 2023 Grand Cru Classé vintage release that will be bottled next year. These are wines to seek out, drink and add to your cellar collection while they still offer excellent value for money in the context of the region’s premium Saint Emilion reds. 

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2007, 13% Abv.

The vineyards on the clay-limestone plateau yielded a spectacularly good offering in 2007. Notes of polished mahogany, earth, tannery leather, cherry kirsch liqueur and black current rise out of the glass. Wonderful berry concentration, elegance and subtle evolution are hallmarks on this expertly crafted wine. It will be hard not to finish the bottle once you open this beauty. Drink now to 2030+.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted December 2017.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2010, 13% Abv.

From this epic vintage, notes of polished mahogany, boot polish, black cherry kirsch liquer and black current confit rise imperiously out of the glass. Wonderful concentration, elegance and freshness are all wrapped together with a most expertly integrated lick of new French oak. This is everything you would want from an iconic vintage and a real testament to winemaker Jean-Michel’s true skills. Drink now to 2035+. (Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted December 2017.

A blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, like the 2012, this is another impressive vintage showing fabulous depth and complexity with time in the glass albeit from one of the greatest ever vintages bestowed upon Bordeaux! Dense, dark and opaque in the glass, the aromatics boast exotic notes of cherry kirsch liquor, molasses, demerara sugar and black plum. This is, as expected, a very complex, sophisticated expression, with ripeness and plenty of dry extract, chalky mineral tannins and great underlying power whilst retaining a seductive, spicy, seductive finesse. You’d really want to have some of this in your cellar.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted September 2023.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2011, 13% Abv.

The 2011 shows attractive floral perfume aromatics, polished oak, cherry confit, cherry liquer and saline black current leaf intensity. Superb concentration, sleek textured elegance and freshness and a smattering of the most attractive French oak vanilla spice notes. A noble and impressive follow up to the 2010 and a wine that will happily grace the tables of the most discerning connoisseurs. Drink now to 2029+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted December 2017.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2012, 13% Abv.

A dark cherry black opaque colour greets the drinker. Initially, the nose is broody and closed. But a little glass swirling and coaxing starts to elicit some of the more classical elements of the bouquet… black berry, black cherry pith, cassis, dusty limestone minerality, hints of graphite and a gloss of buttered brown toast. The oaking is almost imperceptible, revealing a very restrained and quite classical expression from this “drinking” Bordeaux vintage. The palate has all the sleekness, suppleness, and accessibility that you’d expect from a 2012. A soft fine-grained texture with polished powdery tannins, chalky grip and spicy, plummy, peppery black cherry and black berry fruit. It’s all packed into a very classical, medium bodied parcel, that delivers pleasure now but also suggest it is structured enough to be holding back a few surprises in reserve for drinkers in 5 to 8 years’ time. (Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted December 2017.

Another great vintage from the Chateau, this 2012 shows seductive aromatics of damson plum, juniper and black cherry with hints of liquorice and melted tar. The palate offers the friendly face of generous, opulent, succulent Merlot while retaining a tight knit textural elegance and focus. With just a hint of nutty, savoury tertiary development on the finish, this is undoubtedly a wine that is standing the test of time and defying its age. Great to drink now but certainly no rush.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted September 2023.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2014, 13% Abv.

This wine is ripe and rich with beautifully plush classical right bank allure and a soft textured, elegant cassis pastille fruit concentration. A complex wine already in its youth, the layers of mocha, cocoa powder spice and sweet damson plum coat the tongue and thrill the palate. This wine has real depth of fruit, vibrant freshness, and superb length. A class act from some of the best terroir in St Emilion.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted December 2017.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2015, 13% Abv.

The neighbour of Francois Mitjavile’s Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf, La Croizille is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. True to the vintage, this wine has a spectacularly profound quality, and indeed the 2015 La Croizille could be among their greatest ever vintages produced. Certainly on par with the epic 2005, 2009 and 2010, the 2015 has a nose that is seductively perfumed, lifted out of the ordinary by cherry blossoms and an exotic undertone of cherry kirsch liqueur. The caramelized oak notes tease like sprinkles on a chocolate cake! The palate too is dark, dense, powerful, and packed full of opulent exotic flavours of Chinese plum sauce, tart cherry confit, sweet cassis and vanilla pod spice. The balance is exceptional, spreading broad and wide across the palate. This is right bank Bordeaux at its seductive, classical best. Plump yet fresh, dense, sweet fruited and gravelly, yet never losing focus. Oh, and the finish goes on and on like a Duracell bunny! What an impressive wine. (Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted December 2017.

From another warm ripe harvest, 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon blend shows impressive classicism and restraint with dark broody notes of juniper and ripe sloe berries, black cherry, and cassis with a pronounced maritime, kelpy salinity. The palate is generously soft textured and elegant, supremely supple yet fresh, showing that this wine is in a very happy place at the moment. Slightly reined in again on the finish, it’s an impressive creation that will appeal to a broad church of Bordeaux lovers.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted September 2023.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2016, 14% Abv.

The 2016 Château La Croizille has a dense, opulent profuse blueberry fruited nose, high-toned and showy, with all the mineral limestone complexity of its prestigious neighbours such as Tertre Roteboeuf, Troplong Mondot and Rocheyron. The palate is showing some elegant restraint and class with sweet ripe tannins, surly brambly red and black fruits, and an earthy, foresty, rather masculine, slightly introspective finish. So seductive and noble, this wine speaks of great St Emilion terroir with very intelligent winemaking. A superb effort. (Wine Safari Score: 93-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)  – Tasting of barrel sample at En-primeur April 2017.

This is of course a great vintage and on great terroir, iconic wines are produced. This 2016 speaks with a quiet confidence, fabulously focused and intense. On the nose there is a clearly defined purity, clarity, and precision that combines ripeness and restraint, fruit intensity and minerality. A superbly precise wine with pinpoint tannins, a silky finesse, pithy black currant, and black cherry fruits framed by a smoky, chalky mineral tannin veil on the finish. Very impressive indeed.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted in bottle September 2023.

Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2018, 14.5% Abv.

Wonderfully complex aromatics of stewed black cherries, black orchard fruit compote, with hints of liquorice, wood smoke and graphite. The palate is opulent and densely fruited with a pronounced air of ripeness, warmth and sweet fruit, impressively layered in the mouth. On the finish, the flamboyance is reined in, retaining a seamlessly creamy texture but without and obtrusive sweetness. Drink now to 2035+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted September 2023.

Chateau La Croizille 2019 Saint Emilion Grand Cru (Barrel Sample)

Plush, broadly aromatic but beautifully soft toned with dulcet notes pink musk, purple rock candy and black currant with a fabulously generous glycerol concentration, harmonious breadth and depth and a subtle, vanilla dusted, brûléed blueberry muffin finish. Delicious expression. Power with elegance.

(Wine Safari Score: 92-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted En-primeur April 2020.

Chateau La Croizille 2020, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 14.5% Abv.

The 2020 vintage comes from another warm ripe solar harvest year, and this wine shows impressive depth and breadth of texture, with dark broody notes of cherry kirsch liquor, juniper and ripe sloe berries, rose petals, black cherries, blueberries, and black currant with a signature limestone maritime salinity. The palate is generously soft textured, broad but elegant, supremely supple yet impressively fresh with exotic layers of black currant and salty black liquorice. A remarkably elegant, pure and accessible expression with real gravitas that shows a true sense of Saint Emilion limestone terroir. Drink now to 2035+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille 2021, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe, 13.5% Abv.

A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Bordeaux vintage has been pulled up by some critics for producing wines on the left bank offering lighter, more elegant accessible wines, many patently for earlier drinking. But on the right bank,  and especially on top of the limestone Côte in Saint Emilion, some exceptional expressions were produced. With illustrious neighbours Troplong Mondot and Le Tertre Roteboeuf making noteworthy wines, La Croizille joins the party with another seriously delicious wine, the last vintage produced before being reclassified as an illustrious Grand Cru Classé. Dark and opaque in the glass, the rim is vibrant and bright, with aromatics packed with black plums, earthy black currants and macerated black cherries, intermingling with floral hints of violets, lilac, sweet Asian spices, vanilla pod and hoisin plum sauce. The texture is fabulously luxurious and sleek, medium bodied and beautifully polished with soft silky sumptuous tannins underpinned by well-integrated tangy acids. This is a majestic Saint Emilion that offers an abundance of finesse, elegance, and accessible class in keeping with a finer boned, classical vintage. Many consumers, however, will look at the 2021s as a welcomed return to greater vintage restraint and classism. Drink now and over the next 15+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille 2023, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé (Barrel Sample)

Rich, dark and broody with aromatics of purple rock candy, violets, creme de cassis and black cherry confit. The palate is bold and dense, packed full of fleshy, textured fruit extract, dry velvety tannins, and tangy acids, all intelligently coaxed and caressed into a seriously powerful right bank expression that immediately shows its terroir pedigree. 

(Wine Safari Score: 94-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW) – Tasted En-primeur April 2024.

Chateau La Croizille 2024, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé, Bordeaux, 14.5% Abv. (Barrel Sample)

A beautifully dark, dense, and seductively opaque in the glass, this 2024 Saint Emilion reveals a deep black berry fruited aromatic underbelly with notes of violets, sweet cigar box, cedar spice, graphite, and blueberry compote with a subtle dusting of vanilla pod oak spice. Notably restrained on the nose, the palate shifts into a higher gear to reveal a plush, silky, harmonious palate with soft supple tannins, seamlessly integrated acids, and soft-toned black and blueberry fruits in the mouth. The extraction has been incredibly gentle, coaxing only the purest and finest characters from this reduced grape harvest. This is undoubtedly a phoenix rising from the ashes of the 2024 vintage weather chaos. A truly standout, classically restrained expression from Saint Emilion’s limestone cote. 

(Wine Safari Score: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW) Tasted En-primeur April 2025.

For ex-cellar prices and vintage availability, contact Anthony Crameri.

Email: anthony_crameri@orange.fr

Exploring Bordeaux Second Wines – Part 16: L’Innocence de Seraphine Pomerol 2022… 

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

“Is 2022 the acme of Bordeaux? Will it be uttered in the same breath as 1945, 1961, 1982, 2016 and so forth? The 2022 vintage is one of the modern-day greats. The best will stand the test of time.” ~ Neal Martin, Vinous.com

Few wine critics can challenge the supremacy of Neal Martin when it comes to the region of Pomerol and its wines. Indeed, his epic tome is now regarded as the ultimate authority on the region, recently prompting Neal to agree to start work on an updated second edition. Reading the above comments from Neal in his recent Pomerol “in bottle” report, it is very clear that 2022 is already being compared to some of the region’s other hallowed vintages, a sign that bodes exceptionally well for producers who produced second wines.

Chateau Séraphine 2022 recently placed 8th in Neal Martin’s overall review of Pomerol 2022 wines, only coming in behind the great names of Petrus, Le Pin, VCC, La Conseillante, L’Eglise Clinet, Lafleur and Trotanoy. So the Seraphine Grand Vin is certainly rubbing shoulders with the heady, elite big boys of Pomerol. So, what better time then to take another closer look at the second wine from owner Martin Krajewski, namely the L’Innocence de Seraphine 2022, a wine that normally offers exceptional bang for your buck. The new release 2022 will be available in bottle soon but the 2019 is currently offered for £65 inc. per bottle in the UK (and which also rated a solid 93/100 on A Fine Wine Safari).

The 2022 Vintage:

The word was out early that the Bordelais felt they had something special in 2022, long before the world’s wine merchants arrived to make their own assessments at En-primeur. Heatwaves and drought are not usually parents to high-quality wines. However, the wines in barrel confounded merchants’ expectations, with most agreeing that the 2022 vintage was indeed a special one across Bordeaux. Despite the lack of water, the vines did not seem to suffer terribly, remaining in leaf and in good health right up to the harvest. The berries were small and so yields were restricted.

Chateau Seraphine vineyards in Pomerol in September.

All varieties were beautifully ripe, so much so that some properties felt no need to produce any second wines, many opting rather to increase the proportion of press wine in the final blend, such was its quality. Predictably, release prices were, on the whole, very high. But, due to the across-the-board high quality, those producers that did decide to make second wines, like Chateau Seraphine, produced exceptional examples that will undoubtedly thrill Bordeaux lovers.

L’Innocence de Seraphine 2022, Pomerol, 14% Abv.

Pomerol’s consumer popularity is undoubtedly reinforced by the elegance, succulence and fleshy accessibility of the appellation’s Merlot based wines.  This beautiful 2022 is the second wine of the iconic boutique Chateau Seraphine and shows all the regal elegance, pedigree and sophistication you’d expect from this prime right bank terroir. Dark and inky in the glass, the aromatics display a majestic melange of black berries, cassis, damson plum, milk chocolate, and cocoa powder with delicate Chinese five spice nuances. In the mouth, the texture is liquid silk, creamy, plush, and expansive with a weightless concentration and incredibly powdery soft tannins that are enlivened by well integrated tangy acids and a lush cola-tinged finish. Seamless, creamy, and undeniably seductive with a wonderful approachability already, this is exactly what sophisticated Pomerol drinkers want in an earlier drinking expression. Drink now to 2035+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The wines of Chateau Seraphine and Clos Cantenac are imported into the UK by fine wine specialist merchant Museum Wines.

Bordeaux En-primeur 2023 – Tasting the Wines of Martin Krajewski of Clos Cantenac and Chateau Seraphine…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

With Bordeaux En-primeur 2023 about to get into full swing, 2023 is indeed one of the most interesting and intriguing vintages in recent years. I visited Bordeaux from the 13th to the 20th September and visited a number of top Chateaux to walk the vineyards and inspect the quality of the grapes. After visits to left bank chateaux including Pedesclaux, Cap Leon Veyrin, and Pichon Baron as well as visits to right bank properties Figeac, Clos Cantenac and Chateau Seraphine, I concluded that the grape quality was indeed excellent.

The original doubts surrounding the vintage were cast after a prolonged spell of wet and humid conditions that struck vineyards at the end of June and early July, leading to intense mildew pressures. With the correct treatments, yields would have been slightly reduced but quality certainly does not seem to have been compromised at the top properties.

Walking through the Chateau Seraphine vineyard in mid-September 2023.

Whilst 2023 might be remembered as a year of extremes, it also produced some very favourable conditions at crucial times throughout the growing season including a warm dry spring that led to an early growth spurt and gave the vines time to establish themselves before the summer heatwaves arrived. With any serious damaged avoided during the frosts on the 4th and 5th of April, weather improved steadily in May with a very successful flowering and fruit set before a prolonged period of wet and humid conditions followed in late June, bringing with it a serious threat of mildew damage.

With Martin Krajewski in his Pomerol vineyards in September 2023.

From mid-July onwards temperatures were generally cooler than 2022, although they did regularly hit 30c in August and overall conditions remained favourable with red grape harvesting commencing on the 13th of September. The overall quality of the 2023 harvest is considered outstanding.

Petit Cantenac 2023, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 14% Abv.

The 2023 Petit Cantenac is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that seduces from the very first waft of perfume and macerated black berry fruits in the glass. A little darker and broodier than the Clos Cantenac, the aromatics are once again dense and compact revealing rich notes of macerated black plums, black cherries, hoisin plum sauce, tannery leather and delicate hints of graphite spice. The palate shows impressive balance and symmetry all built around sensual, creamy, fine-grained tannins, supple black berry and black cherry fruits and a limestone mineral spice enlivened on the finish with a bright, seamlessly integrated seam of acidity. Showing attractively bold Cabernet characters in its youth, this is another very finely honed and constructed Petit Cantenac that offers a glimpse of the vintage’s warmth and ripeness while simultaneously retaining a certain amount of classical restraint. Really very classy indeed and undoubtedly… excellent value for money.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Clos Cantenac 2023, St Emilion Grand Cru, 14% Abv.

This attractive 2023 Clos Cantenac is an exotic 100% Merlot Saint Emilion Grand Cru and displays the luxurious opulence and ripeness of this warm sunny vintage. Vibrant, plush, and deep, the aromatics show intricate notes of macerated black cherries, black berries, raspberries and damson plums together with hints of pressed violets, fresh tobacco leaf, tilled earth, incense, mocha and vanilla pod spice. The palate is fabulously full and textured, dense and mouth-filling with very sweet fine-grained ripe tannins, layers of salty black currant and black cherry fruits, all punctuated by a lingering vein of acid freshness. Perfectly weighted, rich and harmonious but also elegantly accessible and polished, this could be one of the finest young Clos Cantenac vintages I have tasted to date. A real beauty of the vintage.

(Wine Safari Score: 95-97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

L’Innocence de Seraphine 2023, Pomerol, 14% Abv.

The 2023 L’Innocence de Seraphine is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc and displays seductively opulent aromatics of perfumed violets and lilies, sweet damson plums, black cherries, blueberries, vanilla essence, freshly cut cedar and sweet exotic Asian spices. The palate is beautifully pinpoint and precise with a sleek, polished texture of saline black berry fruits, crème de cassis, picante dark chocolate and fresh cigars with subtle mineral limestone nuances. The palate shows impressive power and focus with supple, pliant tannins enrobed by ripe black berry fruits, mellow acids, hints of cola and salted caramel, finishing with notes of vanilla pod, mocha and savoury macerated berries. A delightful wine with striking mid-palate weight, power, and balance sufficient to rival most producers’ Grand Vins.

(Wine Safari Score: 93-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Seraphine 2023, Pomerol, 14.5% Abv.

The 2023 Seraphine Pomerol is another incredibly dense, intense, hedonistic 100% Merlot creation boasting an almost impenetrable black opaque colour, massive extract, and exotic aromatics of white flowers, macerated black cherries, black currants, cola, freshly tilled earth, graphite, cloves and subtle hoisin plum sauce nuances. The palate is plush, full bodied and incredible concentrated, bursting with mouthwatering layers of blueberries, black currant pastille, black cherries and milk chocolate before subtle hints of salty black liquorice and brown toast on the long, persistent finish. This is an incredibly compelling wine with a spellbinding appeal, mouth coating sweet ripe tannins, and a distinctive seam of fresh, bristling acidity that adds requisite tension and delineation to the velvety Merlot fruit. This is up there with some of the finest vintages of Seraphine produced to date. (Only 4,400 bottle production.)

(Wine Safari Score: 97-98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bordeaux Opulence at Its Very Best – Tasting the De Mour Pomerol 2017 Red…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The De Mour Pomerol is a special Cuvee Bordeaux produced by the Belgian De Schepper – De Mour family and whose wines are for the most part sold in the Benelux, Scandinavia and the UK. The De Schepper family commenced a large scale investment spree in the mid to late 1990’s, bringing the various Chateaux under their ownership into the modern winemaking era, combining Bordeaux’s various sought after terroirs with high-end technology and traditional know-how to create a range of authentic artisanal wines with great opulence, finesse, modernity and personality under the watchful eye of highly respected head winemaker, Jean-Michel Garcion.

The De Schepper – De Mour Bordeaux portfolio now includes several flagship Chateaux in the Haut Medoc, Margaux and St Emilion appellations. Respected for their excellent quality and value for money, their portfolio is now a go-to source for merchants seeking out top quality, direct shipment Chateaux wines from Bordeaux.

De Mour Pomerol 2017, Bordeaux, 13.5% Abv.

This is a fabulously big, bold, opulent Pomerol with an enticing ruby / purple colour and an extravagant and extroverted aromatics of stewed black plums, cherry kirsch liquor, black currant and cherry confit with just a hint of vanilla essence, kelp and subtle top notes of bonfire smoke. The palate is fleshy, showy, rich and boldly ostentatious showing lush, creamy tannins generously supported by sweet black currant fruit intensity, salty cassis, black liquorice and an assortment of other exotic flavours straight from a Michelin Star restaurant’s dessert trolley. Full and fleshy but also finely balanced with fresh acids and spicy mineral tannins, you can drink this wine in its precocious youth to experience its full, succulent personality or age for 6 to 8+ years to experience some tertiary delights. Definitely one for the Bordeaux hedonists.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

For more information or direct shipment prices ex-cellar, contact: Anthony Crameri – anthony_crameri@orange.fr

Acte de Chateau Lafleur by Guinaudeau Vignerons – Tasting 2009 to 2016…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Acte de Chateau Lafleur is a unique wine… “an idea that had been simmering for a few years now in a back corner of our wine-grower’s head. We finally took action in 2009 with the first vintage of this new cru. With Acte we hope to fulfil the dream of creating a new Grand Vin of the right bank. Acte started as a blank sheet, a passionate and ambitious project where everything had to be created from scratch.” – Omri Ram

 

Terroir is clearly the foundation with this new wine and Lafleur embarked on a search for the “ideal” terroir for Acte, taking as reference the best parcels of their Grand Village, and only after preforming profound soil studies, they started acquiring new parcels which corresponded with their rigorous criteria, situated on the poor and shallow soils of the Fronsac region. These new parcels consist of a Saint-Emilion-like clay-limestone terroir, which they compliment with a small proportion of Molasse du Fronsadais soils.

 

The vineyards were planted with equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, favouring above all the Bouchet clone originating from their own massale selection at Lafleur. Clearly, Acte is not a 2nd wine of anything that has come before it or indeed a prestige cuvee. It’s a creation of a new vineyard and a new Cru by the Guinaudeau family who have owned Chateau Lafleur since 1872, with the current family members taking over the reins fully in 1985.

The Guinaudeau family wanted to create a new mythical Cru that in 50 or 80 years time could be another Lafleur. Great terroirs in Fronsac lie on clay-limestone soils. In 2006 they started looking for great parcels with the first vintage released in 2009.

In Fronsac, prime slopes looked good but were too heavy in clay. But they managed to find 10 parcels of shallow clay over limestone on a plateau in the centre of Fronsac. They managed to buy some of these suitable sites that showed great potential.

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2009

60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc

Precise, pure fragrant perfumes nose. Violets, loganberry and pink blossoms with a kiss of vanilla spice, graphite and pink musk. Palate is equally cool and suave, sleek and beautifully balanced with chalky black berry fruits, blueberry hints and a long, opulent, harmonious finish. Seamless and perfectly proportioned and drinking well already.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2010

56% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Franc

Finer, slightly higher tone aromatics with black and blueberry fruit notes, black cherry and a violet and cherry cola complexity. Palate is broad, expansive, silky soft with very finely polished tannins, gentle generous chalky mineral black fruits and a tight core of fruit intensity and concentration. A really impressive show stopper.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2011

56% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Franc

Sweet nutty black fruit notes with a really noticeable liquid chalk mineral note with leafy black fruits and sappy oak spice nicely integrated. Palate is genteel and soft, elegant and medium light weight with creamy dry chalky mineral tannins framing pure black cherry and saline cassis fruit. Very light on its feet with real finesse and balance without any muscle.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2012

51% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Franc

More exotic and wild bramble berry fruit aromatics with spice and sap, charcoal and burnt wood embers. There is an underlying darkness and saline liquorice note with a light fluffy texture, creamy powder-fine tannins and a light bodied finish. No great concentration or depth on this vintage but the flavour are pure, delicate, vibrantly juicy and finely assembled making for a very attractive “restaurant-style” Claret.

(Wine Safari Score: 90+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2013

70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc

A challenging vintage in the region where Cabernet Franc struggled to ripen. This nose reveals a much more traditional “premium Bordeaux” nose with creamy black fruits, buttered brown toast and mocha oak spice complexity. Palate shows an incredibly fine, pinpoint textural precision and balance, plenty of finesse, delicate black currant and sappy black berry fruits and a focused, sleek delicately long finish. Certainly a triumph for the vintage! Still youthful, ageing gracefully but simultaneously utterly delicious.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2014

50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc

An enticing, complex spicy black bramble berry fruit nose laced with sap and resinous, leafy berry fruit notes with a high note of graphite and limestone minerality. Palate is suave and elegant, still quite youthful and tightly wound with opulence and generosity interwoven with chalky tannins, acid freshness and classical black fruited restraint. A fine effort for the vintage that shows the complexity of 100% massale selection vines after clonal material has been removed.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2015

50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc

The aromatics immediately suggest a serious glassful loaded with chalky sappy spice, resinous black berry hints and a dusty chalky minerality. A wine finally revealing a real affinity to Lafleur with sweet plump tannins, ballerina like elegance and finesse, fruit sweetness and black berry concentration. Plenty of baby fat but with unquestionably fine integrity with a very fine fresh acid balance. Classy effort.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte de Guinaudeau Vignerons 2016

50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc

A vintage that really has risen like a phoenix to become instantly revered and collectible among most top producers. This wine also shows the piercing fruit concentration, intense fragrance and accompanying complexity. Layers of blackberry confit, cherry kirsch liquor and seamless chalky minerality with a confident suave fruit concentration, precise intensity and a very friendly generous opulence. So pure, so delicious but will improve further with age. Top drawer!

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

A very fine selection worth tracking down. Wines represented in the UK by Armit Wines.

Old Vine Bordeaux at Its Very Best – Tasting the Ancient Vine Chateau Tour Baladoz Cuvee Le Centenaire 2010…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Château “Valados” first appeared in “Le Producteur” in 1841, and was included in the first edition of “Cocks and Feret” (Bordeaux and its Wines) in 1850 under the name of “Baladoz”. From 1874 to 1922, the estate was known as Château Baladoz until a tower was erected and adopted into the name. In certain parts, vines are grown at an altitude of up to ninety metres, almost the highest in the appellation, with more vines planted on the clay and limestone plateau that dominates the estate. Originally categorised as between the first and second crus of St Emilion, the estate later settled in the Grand Cru category.

The property, located in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, was purchased by Belgian wine trader Emile De Schepper in May 1950 and included 5.56 hectares of vines. The new owner spent his first year renovating the cellars and making improvements to the vineyard. In the early years, the wine was exclusively exported to Belgium, in barrel, where it was bottled in the owner’s cellars in Ghent. The current cellar master and manager is the ultra talented Jean-Michel Garcion, who was appointed in 1992 and now also overseas production at sister estates Chateau La Croizille next door and Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere in Margaux.

70% of the Tour Baladoz vineyard is planted on the plateau, with the remaining 30 % situated on the slopes of the valley over deeply submerged rocks. Here, the challenge lies in making a wine that is as mineral as the geological environment in which the vines grow. The soil base varies from pure chalk and marl, which reminiscent of certain terroirs in the Champagne region, to freestone that appears occasionally and is noticed because of the colour variation in the clay. Here, the Merlot grape thrives and comprises 70% of the vineyard planting with Cabernet Franc (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) making up the remainder.

While one of the great wines of the neighbourhood is certainly the Chateau Tour Baladoz, they also produce miniscule amounts (1,000 bottles) of a special cuvee called Le Centenaire St. Emilion Grand Cru from vines over 100 years old on average. But the great rarity is the cepage with this incredible wine being made up of a blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 3% Saint Macaire and 2% Bouchales, the later two varieties being incredibly rare ancient Bordeaux varieties. After fermentation, the wine is aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barriques.

Chateau Tour Baladoz Cuvee Le Centenaire 2010, St Emilion Grand Cru

A wine of such rarity and corresponding cost (circa £325 per bottle) always commands respect before the cork is even drawn. Coming from probably the greatest modern red wine vintage in Bordeaux’s history, certainly since 1982 though many argue since 1959 and 1961, this wine automatically had a lot of expectation thrust upon it. Already 8 years old, it has a bright ruby garnet rim and a slightly opaque earthy red black plum coloured core. Tasted from Bordeaux Riedel glasses, the nose was initially reticent as many youthful 2010 reds still are, but in true right bank style, was quicker to reveal its charms than perhaps some left bank Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blends. The aromatics are very precise showing beautiful cherry blossom, parma violets, red cherry sherbet and subtle exotic earthy notes of mechanic’s diesel rag. Super complex, noticeably different but thoroughly spell binding. The palate is cool, ultra sleek and beautifully polished but like the nose, has an exotic twist of Caribbean red berry fruits, red cherry, purple rock candy, tart cassis and a Fanta grape twist. Texturally, it’s as fine as it gets with classical old vine power and concentration twinned with dense satin soft tannins and Bordeaux first growth balance. But this wine represents a whole that is clearly much greater than the sum of its parts and a lot of this must surely be attributed to the noteworthy ancient, and now almost extinct, Bordeaux varieties in the blend. A privilege to taste a rarity like this. Drinking now to 2045+

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)