Chateau La Fleur Grande-Landes, Montagne Saint-Emilion – 2016

PRODUCER NOTE:
The Durand family has owned the seven hectare estate in the Montagne district since the 18th century. In 1969, M. Carrère, Mme Durand’s husband took over the estate, shaping it to its current form. Since 1997, his daughter Isabelle Carrère, oenologist from Michel Rolland’s team, has been running the estate having taught viticulture and oenology for 10 years.

VINEYARD:
The vines are grown on slopes in clay soils. The vineyards are carefully managed throughout the year, with debudding, manual removal of the vine-shoots, leaf-thinning and green harvesting all being carefully performed. Chemical fertilisers are not used; instead vegetal based compost is added moderately to the soil having monitored its equilibrium. A manual harvest takes place when the grapes are slightly overripe to get a better phenolic maturity of the skins and the pips.

WINEMAKING:
The grapes were carefully sorted by hand after a total destemming on the sorting table. 20% of the wine was bled off. A cold maceration took place prior to fermentation, which lasted three to four days. The fermentation was carried out in temperature controlled stainless steel vats, with daily pump-overs and lasted for three weeks. The wine was then matured, with 80% aged in vats and 20% in oak barrels.

TASTING NOTE:
A medium bodied Bordeaux, with spicy, dark fruits and herbal notes combined with earthy hints. A beautifully balanced wine with silky tannins and a satisfying finish.

GRAPE:
Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%.

COUNTRY:
France

REGION:
Bordeaux

SUB-REGION:
Montagne Saint-Émilion