NICHE NICHE TAKES BORDEAUX

The Wines…

Chateau Talbot, Caillou Blanc 2018

A Grand Vin in white from the Medoc, the Caillou Blanc is produced by a prestigious property of the Saint-Julien appellation, the Grand Cru Classe Château Talbot.

At the head of one of the largest vineyards in Bordeaux’s Left Bank, Chateau Talbot manages 5.2 hectares of white grape vines, planted in Medoc gravel soils.

The Caillou Blanc 2018 from Chateau Talbot is made from a blend dominated by Sauvignon Blanc (69%), supplemented by Semillon (31%). This white Grand Vin from the Medoc is produced in the Bordeaux Blanc Sec appellation, and is aged in oak barrels, of which 40% is new.

Chateau Le Puy, Duc De Nauves 2018

At Chateau Le Puy, farming is a precious art form. 

Besides applying Organic and Biodynamic ideologies in the vineyard--Chateau Le Puy has incorporated full-fledged Permaculture which adopts some of the same tenets of Biodynamics and takes them a step further. 

This is looking at the vineyard not just as a farm but as a proper ecosystem, a piece of nature. The Amoreau family acquired this nine-hectare vineyard in 2006, and immediately began employing biodynamic practices (Duc des Nauves is certified biodynamic as of the 2015 vintage). Planted to 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the vineyard is situated on the same Asterie-limestone mother rock as those of Le Puy, but at a slightly lower altitude—80 meters above sea level compared to Le Puy’s 110 meters. The topsoil is slightly sandier and less clayey here, and it is a bit deeper than at Le Puy—between 1.0 and 1.3 meters. In the cellar, Duc des Nauves is both fermented (spontaneously, of course) and aged in cement, and bottled without filtration after one year.

Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc Bordeaux 2007

Grapes: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot

During the Middle Ages, Château Cantemerle was part of a line of fortifications defending the shores of the Médoc around one kilometre from the present château. Château Cantemerle's vineyards are planted on gravelly soil along the Gironde estuary. Chateau Cantemerle is a 5th Growth Bordeaux producer - it is one of the southernmost classified vineyards in the Médoc and sits just outside of the Margaux appellation. It is planted to 67% Cabernet Sauvignon / 23% Merlot / 5% Cabernet Franc / 5% Petit Verdot across the 90 hectares. The soil here is gravel and silica, which makes it difficult for the vines to grow - this struggle creates the very intense aromatics that Chateau Cantemerle is often known for. Cantemerle was one of the only two edits ever made to the 1855 Médoc Classification (the other was Mouton-Rothschild), and an interesting story - because the owner was selling privately and not through the merchants in Bordeaux until 1854, Cantemerle was left off the list when classifying the estates of Bordeaux. The owner, Caroline de Villeneuve, was extremely displeased and demanded a meeting to remedy this. She brought receipts spanning over 40 years to show the cost at which Cantemerle was being sold to easily compare to the classified wines. de Villeneuve was successful and Cantemerle was pencilled in to the 1855 Classification. 

2007 was a very difficult vintage for winemakers in Bordeaux as the growing season was quite cool and wet but was saved a bit by dry and sunny weather during harvest. The resulting wines are very light in style compared to other Bordeaux vintages and they are not expected to age well in the long term. That said, they offer great enjoyment right now because the lack of heavy tannins makes them quite accessible and they are already aromatically very complex. 2007 wines are in the perfect spot now for enjoying a mature Bordeaux profile, especially so for Chateau Cantemerle. The wines in 2007 were made in the standard Cantemerle fashion: vinification occurs in a variety of 24 conical wood vats, 10 stainless steel tanks, and 7 cement vats. The tanks vary greatly in size and at a minimum are 100 hectoliters. The young vines are always vinified in the stainless steel vat and the wine is aged in 40% to 50% new French oak barrels for between 12 to 16 months, depending on the vintage.

Les Carmes Rieussec, Sauternes 2018

Grapes: 80 to 90% Sémillon – 10 to 20% Sauvignon and Muscadelle.

For several generations, Chateau Rieussec has been the leading name in Sauternes wines. As early as 1868, Charles Cocks remarked “Beyond any of the others, Rieussec produces wines very similar to Yquem wines”. Extensive pruning and the sparing use of natural fertilizer helps keep production low. The techniques remain traditional and specific to the Sauternes region. In terms of yields, the traditional reference is that a single vine should produce a bottle of wine. Here, though, a single vine produces about a glass of wine. Traditional fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats and can last as long as two months. The wine is aged for 16 to 26 months in oak barrels, produced mostly at Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) cooperage and half are renewed each year. Classified "Premier Grand Cru" in 1855, Rieussec has held its reputation and the quality of its wine, throughout the difficult years which Sauternes properties have been through.