Chateau Cantemerle – Les Allees de Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc – 2019

Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Following enormous investment and changes both in the winery and vineyard management, Château Cantemerle is a Fifth Classed Growth which is proud of its heritage and justifies its place in the 1855 classification. The Château is home to three temperature controlled vat rooms with a total capacity of 8,000 litres and the cellars are all air conditioned, housing over 2,000 barrels. The second wine of Château Cantemerle comes mainly from the Château’s young vines and is produced in the same way as its elder brother. Les Allées de Cantemerle has the same great personality as the Grand Vin, but is ready to drink earlier.

THE VINTAGE:
Late winter and early spring were unusually dry and mild which prompted early budburst, however a cold snap in April and May saw late spring frosts. The early part of the summer was exceptionally hot, with vines experiencing the effects of drought. Some heavy rains at the end of July provided much-needed relief for the vines and the temperatures cooled down in August. The cooler weather continued into September with light rain, which helped the vines to retain balancing acidity. The 2019 wines show sophisticated tannins and aromatic elegance.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
Situated in the Haut-Médoc, the Château de Cantermerle vineyard covers 91 hectares of vines. The soils are silica-gravel, which are a result of a thousand year old erosion of the Pyrenees by the River Garonne and form one of the fundamental elements of this quality vineyard. The soils are poor in nutrients, so the vines ‘struggle’, resulting in grapes with a high concentration of flavour. In addition, the small pebbles in the soil provide a filter and contribute to the grape’s maturity by reflecting the sun’s rays during the day and retaining the heat during the cooler nights. The vines have an average age of 40 years and are planted at a density of 8,300 vines per hectare, yielding between 50 to 55 hectolitres per hectare. The vines are pruned to the Médoc Double Guyot method and are grafted onto the phylloxera resistant 3309-10114 Riparia Gloire rootstock. The estate is HVE3 certified sustainable.

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
The grapes were manually harvested, destemmed, hand-sorted and then crushed. Fermentation took place in wooden conical frustum vats, which allow an intense, passive maceration of the cap and grape solids in the juice. Fermentation with selected yeasts lasted for six to eight days at 26 to 28 °C, followed by maceration lasting 30 days. The wine was aged for 12 months in medium toasted, three-year old French oak barrels. Bottled without filtration and just a very light fining.

OUR TASTING NOTES:
A traditional and deeply coloured Bordeaux, with an intense, fresh and elegant bouquet of blackcurrant and tobacco through to a smooth, generous palate with a round and lively impression.

GRAPE:
Cabernet Sauvignon 68%, Merlot 23%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Petit Verdot 4%.