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Situated on the outskirts of Bordeaux, Château Malbec is an attractive estate dating back to 1860, acquired by the Castel family in 1991. Contrary to appearances, the Château takes its name not from the grape variety but from its former owner, Louis Malbec. Château Malbec produces an elegant wine of international renown, as evidenced by the 95 points awarded by Decanter magazine for its 2014 vintage.
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From the high-altitude vineyards of the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina, this aged malbec wine is dark and spicy with black and red fruit aromas and flavours.
Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months with bottle aging for a minimum of six months, it is smooth on the palate with toasty, tobacco-like notes from the well-integrated oak.
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TASTING NOTES A ruby red colour. A seductively fruity nose (raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants), with a delicate hint of wood. On the palate this wine has good volume, and shows grippy tannins that are the true reflection of its genuine terroir. WINE MAKING The grapes are picked by hand, at optimum ripeness. They are then entirely destemmed. Fermentation takes place at controlled temperatures of 28°C to 32°C (82 to 90 F) in open concrete tanks. After devatting and pressing, malolactic fermentation is carried out in tanks. MATURING Part of the wine is aged in barrels, which brings a touch of oak to the final blend. The rest stays in tanks to preserve the full fruit aromas. These wines are racked regularly to help them to stabilise naturally. "Les Challeys" is then bottled, after blending of the different Cuvée "batches". CHARACTERISTICS This cuvée is a blend of various grapes from the Saint-Joseph area between Mauves and Chavanay. Average production: 65,000 bottles (75 cl.) per year. Grape variety : 100% Syrah.FOOD AND WINE PAIRINGMarinated or grilled beef, stews, mixed grills, game, any kind of cheese.
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PRESENTATION The vines grow on limestone, calcareous marl and sandy soils, giving the Grenache immense finesse and elegance with unique aromas. Some old plots of Grenache planted on sand have pre- phylloxera vines. THE VINTAGE The 2020 vintage in Southern Rhône was favoured by very good weather conditions, it is a generous vintage, both in terms of quality and quantity. Not as hot as in 2019, this year was very windy, throughout the growing cycle, with light rainfalls. After a fairly mild winter (one single episode of frost was noted during the night of March 24, but only the early ripening plots were very slightly affected). The spring was radiant, quite warm and very windy, which allowed the soils to preserve their freshness. Flowering began on May 18, under very healthy conditions. The good weather continued in June, July and August, with plenty heat but lower temperatures than in 2019, cool and humid nights and wind which continued to blow, preserving the freshness of the vines and maintaining perfect sanitary conditions for the grapes. The harvest, which was fairly early, therefore began under these very good conditions on August 26 with the white Côtes-du-Rhône and continued until the end of September with the Mourvèdre. September was warm at the beginning of the month and then more temperate, offering idyllic harvest conditions and allowed each plot to be harvested at perfect maturity. The harvest was very healthy with beautiful juicy and very ripe grapes, reasonable alcohol levels, good acidity and already a great balance. Yields are slightly higher than 2019 and the first tastings predict a very nice vintage.VARIETALS Grenache 60%, Syrah 40% SERVING Serve at 16°C with a veal chop with morels or a crispy lamb breast.
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THE VINTAGE 2021 is a vintage marked by freshness, which is similar to the vintages we had in the eighties and nineties. It is also what we call a "winegrower vintage", human intervention and the care given to the vines were decisive for the quality of the vintage. Marked by climatic vagaries, with an episode of frost in April and interrupted harvest because of rain, this year has indeed required constant investment from our teams in the vineyard. Their attention and their commitment have borne their fruit: this vintage is very promising with lots of freshness and great balance. AGEING From the month of August onwards we carry out maturity checks and taste the berries regularly to determine the optimum harvest date. Each grape variety is harvested separately. On arrival at the cellar the berries are sorted. Part of the Syrah is vinified in whole clusters and the remainder, plus the Grenache, is destemmed. Vinification is in wooden and stainless-steel vats using the same methods as for the Château de Beaucastel wines. The wines are then tasted to determine the blend, and finally aged in foudres for 2 years. VARIETALS Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah
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Château Chasse Spleen 2018 is a fabulous Cru Bourgeois from the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation. Owned by the Merlaut family since 1976, Château Chasse Spleen is a reference in the Médoc for the quality of its wines. The 2018 vintage is made from 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. It has a ruby red color. Its nose is a bouquet of red fruit aromas, spicy and vanilla notes. On the palate, the attack is frank, with enveloped tannins, for a lingering finish.
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We will remember 2013 a s a cool. wet vear. with the exception of July and August. The harvests took place quite late; at the end of September. The warm, very humid, almost tropical conditions of the vintage created a high risk of botrytis and therefore required a meticulous sorting of the grapes. This unusual vintage in Bordeaux was vinified gently in order to avoid excessive extraction. We paid careful attention to the barrel ageing process in order to respect the wines balance between a fruity character, body and a well-honed tannic backbone.
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The 2013 Chasse-Spleen has a reserved nose of raspberry, cranberry leaf and cedar, a hint of cola in the background with earthy tones becoming more evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy red berry fruit, tertiary in style with a rather lean, herbaceous finish that has decent length if not the requisite substance for a wine of this pedigree. Drink over the next 6 to 8 years.
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