EARL MAISON ZOELLERGEWURZTRAMINER |
 As the press dating from XVIIe century testifies some, the family perpetuates since more than ten generations the viticultural tradition. Today, this ancestral know-how is combined with the modern methods to make it possible to work out wines complying with the rules of hygiene and quality while preserving their naturalness and especially their authenticity. A respect of fauna and flora for the health of the vine (manual grape harvest). Remarkable Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg 2005, very typified, with the robe of golden steady, with the white fruit aromas, a beautiful very well-balanced, scented and persistent wine, complex in mouth, combining structure and smoothness. Superb Gewurztraminer Les Orchidées 2009, suave and dry at the same time, a powerful and strong wine, where intermingle the fresh spices and flowers, all finally, of excellent evolution as attests this 2007. Riesling de Wolxheim cuvée Réservée 2009 is a wine which releases a great aromatic expression marked by notes of ripe fruits and rose, of a great complexity. Taste also the Pinot noir 2008, coloured, of full and fleshy mouth, with nuances of black cherry, currant and cinnamon. Very suave, Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2008, with the complex and powerful nose, where nuances of acacia open out, candied fruits and white flowers, is a very unctuous wine, very elegant, to uncork on goose truffle foie gras of Alsace. There is still this rosy Pinot noir Saignée 2008, all color, all in aromas like the Pinot noir 2009, extremely well matured, with the subtle aromas where the red fruits and the violet prevail, a rich wine, combining smoothness and structure. Taste Riesling Anna 2007, all in aromatic smoothness, of nice robe brilliant, all in persistence, and this enchanting Muscat Vendanges Tardives 2009, very dense, with the fruity and floral notes intense, of an aromatic great power to the palate (toast, ripe peach…), of a soft consistency. |
DOMAINE COQUARD-LOISON-FLEUROTCLOS DE LA ROCHE |
 Fifth generation of vine growers for this winegrowing of 9 ha, manual grape harvest, standing fermentation open during 12 to 15 days, with pigeage and reassembly days laborer, control of the temperatures by thermoregulation and maturing out of barrels of oak for approximately 18 months for all the appellations. Superb Échezeaux Grand Cru 2004, remarkable, fleshy, with the morello cherry and spice nose ripe, very rich, of a long final with ripe and complex nuances of red fruits, undergrowth and of liquorice. The 2003, elegant and of large smoothness, complex and rich person, are supple and fleshy at the same time, a wine typified well as it should be, with truffle and prune notes, of vivid color, a powerful great wine. The Chambolle-Mussigny 2004 is of beautiful intense red color, with the nose marked by aromas of blackberry and of liquorice, a full wine, very persistent stops some like this Morey-Saint-Denis 2004, rich person and generous, with notes characteristic of blackberry and undergrowth, where the fleshy one joins the structure, of very good guard. Remarkable Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2004, very a typified great wine, where the spices and the vanilla intermingle, which mixes structure and consistency in mouth, suave, of excellent evolution like this Échezeaux 2003, elegant and of large smoothness, complex and rich person, supple and fleshy at the same time, a wine typified well as it should be, with truffle and prune notes, of vivid color, a powerful great wine. Remarkable Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2004, of vivid, rich color with the nose, with these connotations of cherry and humus, a complex and powerful great wine, melted stops some like the Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2003, of powerful mouth, with melted tannins, with these notes quite characteristic of slightly spiced ripe small fruits, a wine which requires to be melted, like the Vosne Romanée 2006. |
DOMAINE ROGER PABIOT ET SES FILSPOUILLY-FUME |
 A family estate of 21 hectares, including some parcels of vines of more than 80 years old, run by two sons, Gérard and Bernard, who combine traditional practices with the modern techniques they have learned in legendary wine-growing areas: Beaune, Macon and Bordeaux. The estate is planted on the best hillsides overlooking the Loire, with very representative soils of the region: hard limestone, flinty clay, sandy terraces and Kimmeridgian marl, with each type of soil contributing its own qualities and creating a wine which has very particular characteristics on a terroir which does not. Their Pouilly-Fumé Cuvée Silex is quite superb, combining complexity and finesse, with a subtle nose of notes of honey, flowers and spices. The mouth is very marked by the soils, giving it a mineral taste and great freshness. It is a racy, very well-balanced, powerful, ample wine with very good development. The Pouilly-Fumé Coteau des Girarmes is remarkable, with notes of fresh fruit and lime-tree, a fleshy, aromatic wine which is ample, fruity and lasting in the mouth. A member of the Individual Wineries Federation. |
DOMAINE CHARLES AUDOINMARSANNAY |
 The field extends on 14 ha, offering a diversity of 14 names of Marsannay, Porte-d’Or of Côte-de-Nuits, in Pommard, to Côte-de-Beaune. Cyril Audoin, 29 years, represents the fifth generation of vine growers. But, if the field reaches 14 ha today, the surface of the property, to the beginning of the year 1900, was limited to only 4 ha. The vineyard was maintained thanks to the perseverance of Marie Ragonneau, the great-grandmother of Cyril, a strong woman who knew only to preserve and maintain the vineyard, working itself with her horse and her pulverizer with back. To pay homage to him, Cyril created the vintage Marie Ragonneau besides on Marsannay name. Charles Audoin, his father, knows each piece, each stock and it is this respect of the vine in its environment which will have guided its decisions during these forty last years, the objective being to allow this marvellous type of vine, black Pinot, installed on grounds argilo-limestones if varied, to express all the potentialities with authenticity of these beautiful soils. The word is marked “soil”. Cyril encased the step. In its research of optimal quality, of typicity of each soil, it also made the choice separately vinify in Marsannay name various worthy localities to express a typicity, a special character of it. A large work when it is known that the smallest Marsannay vintage, Charme aux Prêtres, does not exceed 600 bottles! Marsannay always awaits the attribution of a classification in Premier Cru for its excellent localities located in medium of slopes, Marsannay the Favières, the Clos of Roy, Les Longeroies, Charmes aux Prêtres, Champ Solomon… are the best representatives. “Where the harmony, complexity, elegance must characterize a high-class wine of Bourgogne, Cyril Audoin continues, let nature achieve its wonders by accompanying it and not while trying to replace it. I do not understand the needs for a very thorough extraction. To make confidence at the year, to keep an ancestral know-how, respecting what the former generations brought to us, to transmit and perfect our knowledge, not unreasoned innovation! We are resolutely faithful to simple practices: to gather the grapes with maturity a healthy harvest, without overload, to take care of the manually collected grapes, sorted on table to perfect quality. Maceration and cuvaisons carried out according to the year during 14 to 18 days, a breeding out of barrels in cellar where the wines will open out at their rate/rhythm, a setting in bottles if possible without joining nor filtration at the time when the wine is ready and not when “the market” requires it.” Very beautiful Marsannay Clos of Roy red 2006, with the nose of ripe fruits and humus, rich and complex, all in mouth, of vivid color, with well balanced tannins, very promising.The 2005, coloured, robust, with the notes of ripe red fruits and spices, dense in mouth, structured well, generous, of delicate and rich at the same time structure, are of very good guard. The 2002, intense with the nose as in mouth, rich color as in aromas (stone-fruits, liquorice), and starts to open. Beautiful Marsannay Les Favières, mouthfull, scented well (morello cherry, grooves), with very well-balanced tannins, at the same time powerful and supple, of a beautiful final, excellent guard. At their sides, Marsannay Les Longeroies 2005, of powerful mouth, with the subtle nose where the undergrowth prevails. Very attractive white Marsannay In Champs Solomon 2006, with these aromas of flower of acacia and lime, associating structure and smoothness, all in harmony, of persistent mouth like excellent rosy Marsannay. |
CHATEAU TOULOUZEGRAVES DE VAYRES |
 The grounds of the Château Toulouze depended on a vast land unit, property of the Château de Vayres. This last built in XIIIème century with the site of a Gallo-Roman “oppidum” which prevails the Dordogne, was one of the residences of the king Henri IV. Property in its current form, 27 ha of only one holding, buildings and vineyard, corresponds to what remains of a vast domain wine and maturing of more than 70 ha, built with delicate of the XVIIIème century, following the French revolution and dismantled gradually by the play of the successions. The vineyard completely restructured in 1986, starts to express the rise to power of the expression of the soil. That gives wines to the flesh fuller, generous, fruity but with impressed elegant tannins of smoothnesses. Well-balanced and harmonious wines, that one can taste young people after a broad ventilation out of carafe, but who offer according to the vintages an excellent potential of guard, on average from 10 to 15 years. |
CLOS TRIMOULETSAINT-EMILION Grand Cru |
 Located to the north of Saint-Emilion, "Clos Trimoulet" is a family estate on which the ancestral skills have been handed down over five generations now. Guy Appollot and his two sons have managed to preseve this heritage, whilst combining it with the most modern of techniques. The estate is divided into several plots of vines with clay and sandy soils which give the wine structure, longevity and finesse. The grapes are picked when they are perfectly ripe and undergo a long vatting process which extracts as many tannins as possible. The result is that "Clos Trimoulet" is an excellent wine for laying down. All the production is bottled on the estate after 18 months of maturing in oak barrels. This rich, generous Grand Cru has lots of colour, is dense and firm in the mouth and has a characteristic nose of ripe red fruit, spices and humus. Most remarkable development. Try the excellent Montagne-Saint-Emilion Château Chevalier-Saint-Georges, made and matured like the Clos Trimoulet. The orientation of the estate and its essentially clay soils produce a wine with a different character and personality, fleshy and distinctive and offering remarkable value (and pleasure) for money. |
LES VINS PHILIPPE NUSSWITZVIN DE PAYS DUCHE D'UZES |
 Better Sommelier de France in 1986, Philippe Nusswitz settles in 2002 with Pascale, his wife and her children to Durfort in a Cevennes farmhouse of XVIIth century in the middle of the vines, in the soil of Duché d' Uzès. The vine growing is respectful environment and the vineyard in the course of recognition of the AOC Duché D' Uzès. The wine making is done in Coopérative Agricole Les Coteaux Cévenols in Durfort. One tastes there this fermented VDP Orénia white 2008, assembly of Viognier (50%), Marsanne, Roussane and a point of Grenache, fresh and dense, all in smoothness, a beautiful length in mouth, with the peach and hazel nut nose. This ? white Orénia Réserve 2008, selection of Viognier, Roussane and Marsanne, a third of the vintage was fermented out of barrel of oak, with the green reflections with aromas of nut and citrus fruits, is a wine of a good acidity, quite round with the nose as in mouth, lively and delicate, persistent and aromatic, of a beautiful fresh final. Red Orénia Réserve 2007, coloured and robust, with the nose prevailed by the red small fruits with stone and of the accents of smoked to the palate, is a rich wine like Miratus red 2006 (60% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre and 20% Grenache), fleshy, with rich and silky tannins at the same time, persistent, with the leather and cooked black fruit notes, wine for ageing. |
DOMAINE ALAIN MICHAUDBROUILLY |
 Property created in 1910 by the grandfather. Alain Michaud represents the third generation of vine growers, assisted soon by 4th with Dorian. The winegrowing counts 13 ha including 9 in Brouilly appellation, made up for 70% by vines of more than 50 years. Beautiful Brouilly 2007, delicate, scented, robust, a wine which feels good the ripe red fruits and the undergrowth, of tasty mouth. The 2006, of a robe limpid red cherry, develop a nose of morello cherry but also with aromas of blackcurrant and peony and a fresh mouth with well melted tannins, a wine which requires a rich kitchen. The 2005 are of deep color, with the notes of blackberry and violet, of well-balanced structure, very charmer, of fleshy and persistent mouth, excellent evolution. The Morgon 2006 (2,50 ha, 45 years old vines on the slopes) is a success, wine of a full and rich, with the complex nuances of fruits of wood, powerful and tasty, promising mouth. The Beaujolais rosé 2006 (2000 bottles only) is greedy and fruity, perfect on the Lyons pork-butcheries. The 2008 are a small harvest with much concentration, and the winegrowing offers a new product to you “La Gamaysienne”. The Catch of foam is made out of bottle with a traditional discharging, an ideal wine for a light aperitif or a dessert. |
CHATEAU DES PEYREGRANDESFAUGERES |
 Family winegrowing of 25 ha since 5 generations, Marie-Geneviève Boudal-Benezech perpetuates the tradition and the destiny of the Winegrowing since 1995. Quality orders the control of our vines, our estate is qualified under l' Agriculture raisonnée. The wines are very typified “Faugères”: a great richness aromatic, much of structure, large smoothnesses of tannins. Our goal is to transmit to the consumer the typicity of this appellation, by working out wines resulting from assembly and in constant research from balance between the powerfull and the smoothness. In fact, as in a work of art, we try to transmit through our products, the love and the passion which we have for our area, our vines and our wine. The Winegrowing proposes this Faugères rouge 2004 to you, coming from grapes (manual grape harvest) resulting from an estate qualified with the title from reasoned agriculture and following the step Terra Vitis, of beautiful garnet-red color, still young, with the morello cherry and blackcurrant, undergrowth nose, associating smoothness and structure, with at the same time rich and tasty tannins. The Faugères cuvée Charlotte 2004, resulting from the four type of vines Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre, is powerful and tasty, with the nose characteristic of ripe fruits and scrub, color vivid, robust, rich and molten at the same time, of guard. Beautiful Faugères Prestige 2003 (50% Syrah, 40% Carignan and 10% Mourvèdre, on the slopes of the Serre, arid slope on the heights of the southern full exposed village vis-a-vis the sea), maturing in oak barrel, a wine with tannins present and tasty at the same time, of beautiful robe vivid, very scented (humus, liquorice), of a beautiful fullness in mouth, very good evolution. The cuvée Marie Laurencie 2001 (40% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Carignan and 10% Mourvèdre, vintage grain by grain, maturing 10 months out of barrels with 1/3 of new barrels) is a beautiful concentrated and rich wine, of intense garnet-red color, with the aromas of strawberry of wood and spices, of powerful and elegant mouth. Beautiful Faugères 2004, rich person and fleshy, of intense, fruity color (morello cherry, blackberry), finely peppered, robust, very succeeded like the Faugères rosé 2007. |
DOMAINE DE MENARDCOTES-DE-GASGOGNE |
 A passion of the vine transmitted since 3 generations of wire father and girl. In 1920, Jean François Morel, Swiss wire of wine growers, arrive in Gers and are installed on a winegrowing: it acquires the Winegrowing of Ménard into 1938 which includes 10 ha of vines then. Denise her daughter and her husband Jean Jegerlehner are installed on the winegrowing in 1960, and their common passion of the vine will make it possible to build the wine storehouses and to extend the vineyard. Their Philippe son joined them and reverses himself thoroughly in the good behavior of the vineyard and the winegrowing. But the passion of the vine and the wine gains also Elisabeth their daughter (first oenologist of Tariquet), who helped of her husband Henry Prataviera very quickly will make evolve the Domaine de Ménard which counts 110 ha to date. The first bottles of the Domaine de Ménard are produced in 2002. More than 400000 bottle-neck were marketed in 2007 in Ménard, Haut Marine and Saveur Gascogne, in France and abroad. The wines are very fruity and the richness of the soils makes it possible to leave each year new wines as in 2008 the “cuvée Marine ” and “Première Gelée ” which represent Gascogne so well. The objectives are to attract new consumers and to make them discover and divide thanks to a positive ratio quality-price, the pleasure of the wine. |
Domaine André DUSSOURT 
In 1983, the Domaine Bertagna was bought by the family Günther Reh which has other wine winegrowings throughout the world. During the last decade, the Winegrowing was modernized through a vast program of technical investments. The wine making proceeds in the respect of the tradition bourguignonne while calling upon the new but expressly reflected and adapted techniques. The work of the vine is done uninterrupted, throughout the year. It is dictated by the vegetative cycle of the plant. Philosophy is based on ecology thus on the respect of natural balances. It forces to refuse the systematic use of chemicals, in order to preserve the grounds and the environment and to support the spontaneous development, on the bunches, of the indigenous yeast populations essential to fermentation. This Clos Saint-Denis Grand cru red 2007, of dark robe, surprises by its fullness and its powerfull. Fleshy, delicate and fruity, of a beautiful harmony between freshness, fleshy and tannins. The Clos de Vougeot Grand cru red 2007, steady color, of a beautiful structure, rich and structured, with the connotations characteristic of liquorice, undergrowth and of ripe cherry, is a powerful wine in aromas like of structure, of fort beautiful evolution. Premier Cru red Clos de La Perrière Monopole 2007, limpid and brilliant robe, feels the black fruits and smoked, on nuances in mouth of spices and liquorice. Moreover, the Winegrowing transformed part of the property into hotel, which makes it possible to the hosts to reside in the middle of Bourgogne.
Nicole Roskam-Brunot, after studies of right and écomnomie regional to the university of Bordeaux, has decided to devote entirely to its vineyard and to bring most attentive cares to vinificationet to soil, year watching to what the ground has all the oligo-necessary elements for its property. 12 hectares the continuation of the holy Saint-émilionnais, dominating the valley of the Dordogne. It is composed 75% of black Merlot, 20% of Cabernet-franc and 5% of Cabernet-Sauvignon. The terrain sablo-graveleux and clay allows an excellent maturation of the grape. The wine is very elegant, marvellously bouqueté and fruity, a beautiful complexity and length in mouth. Nicole Roskam-Brunot, assisted of Frans Roskam, control with fineness the breeding of the wine in casks. Deepen therefore on this Saint-Emilion GC, concentrate, balanced, to the tanins rich and silky, to the red deep, beautiful and promising evolution. It is necessary to add to the Château Cantenac, the Château Moulin de Grenet, a Lussac-saint-Emilion, very fruity who benefits from a long cold maceration and this superb Selection Madame, a supple wine, fruity, very charmer.
Family estate of approximately 8 ha, with prevailing of Pinot meunier. The brut Champagne vintage Symphonie Prestige, is prevailed by ripe fruit aromas and dry small fruits, slightly with the honey taste, a beautiful length very out of structure, all in perfume. The Blanc de blancs, is an assembly of harvests 2005 and 2004, a very aromatic wine, where one finds nuances of lemon and almond, intense and sharp, very harmonious, of beautiful color, combining roundness and persistence in the palate, of abundant foam, traditional. The brut rosé, is pure a Pinot meunier, with the ripe fruit nose (currant, raspberry…), with a delicately spiced touch. The Vintage 2004, resulting from the 3 type of vines (Pinot meunier and Chardonnay vinified out of barrels of oak of 5 wines, Pinot black vinified out of tanks), is very attractive, with aromas of pear and of roasted hazel nut, its robe is of a beautiful pale yellow to the gold reflections, a powerful and elegant Champagne at the same time, all finally.
Family property since the middle of the 19th century, the Château Béchereau is a wine estate of 25 hectares including 9 ha in Bordeaux Supérieur, 10.5 ha in Montagne -Saint-Emilion and 5.50 ha in Lalande-of-Pomerol. Beautiful fermented Montagne -Saint-Émilion Spéciale 2006, of beautiful robe crimson, a wine rich and generous, firm, with prevailing of black small fruits and cinnamon, who marries elegantly a tannic smoothness with a persistent roundness. The 2005, fleshy and concentrated, are a wine rich in bouquet as out of matter, with well-balanced tannins, very full, elegant, mouthfulls, with nuances of blackcurrant, truffle and humus, a great harmony, guard. The 2004 are a wine of robe crimson, with the intense nose of ripe red small fruits and leather, quite robust. Discover Bordeaux Supérieur fermented Spéciale 2005, robust, with the notes of prune and undergrowth, a powerful wine, of very good mouth, fort good evolution, a wine which agrees with a roast of veal forest. Remarkable Lalande-of-Pomerol vintage Spéciale 2005, maturing in oak barrel, gold medal with the competition of Bordeaux of Vins of Aquitaine 2007, a wine scented, harmonious, with the subtle and intense nose at the same time, with spiced notes, with quite well-balanced tannins, fleshy and concentrate. The 2004, of very tannic good base, are rich and fleshy, of full and fruity mouth. The 2003 of a deep color is traditional, of a great subtlety, very full, with silky tannins, of a beautiful final, very good guard.
A Winegrowing of 30 ha, on grounds argilo-limestone, where all the vines are in the plain of Roussillon. The type of vines are Cabernet, the Merlot, Syrah, and Grenache. Only Cabernet is matured 1 year out of barrels of oak and the Merlot is cold vinified in order to obtain a fruity wine. Discover this Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Merlot 2006, fleshy, scented, with these ripe fruit and undergrowth notes (strawberry, bilberry), of a beautiful fullness in mouth. The 2005, of robe crimson intense, very good mouth, with the pepper and blackcurrant connotations, quite firm, robust, a wine structured very well, with velvety tannins, of very good guard. The 2004 is tasted very well today, coloured, very scented (humus, liquorice), combining structure and roundness in mouth. Cabernet 2005 (12 months maturing out of barrels of oak) is a wine with matter and tannins, with the red fruit aromas and undergrowth, with this spice point and this at the same time rich and supple structure, of excellent guard. The 2004, quite robust, where prevail of the notes of ripe blackcurrant, melted mouth, of garnet-red robe, are a slightly spiced wine, with a very pleasant roasted final. Mas Chichet rosy 2008 is really charmer, coming from the type of vines Syrah, Grenache, Merlot and Cabernet, a wine of robe ruby, very aromatic (strawberry of wood, currant…), mouthfull, with this touch of allied acidity to a pleasant roundness, an elegant and persistent wine. Since 2007, Laure Chichet also created a wine new range “Mas que Mas”, easy to drink, in the 3 colors (very successful labels). There is the red, very fruity, ideal on a grill like rosy, frank an delicious. Nice white (Sauvignon white, Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier) all of structure and perfumes, with drinking in its youth on the seafood.
Winegrowing of 23 ha, where one cultivates human heat with the same care that one brings to the vines, privileging fauna and the flora, “brooding them” to extract their quintessence and to let them from it express itself as well as possible, during a perfectly controlled and traditional maturing. These impassioned owners have indeed in heart to make discover subtleties of their environment, their soil and their work, so that each one of their bottle is a source of user-friendliness. Their daughter, Mathilde, work with them, her brother, Auguste, occupy more cellar. Since nearly 25 years, the Natter family is vivid by an Hmong team - originating in the mountains of the Laos - integrated into the culture of the wine. She impregnated single relation that these women and men maintain with the vegetable world. Together, they engage and take part in the installation of a protection of the local biodiversity. In 2005, the winegrowing gained the Trophy of the Best Very Small Exporter, at the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the club of the exporters of France. The agricultural regional Meeting decreed in Cécile and Henry the price of Honor for “atypical Vine growers”. The family has in heart to make discover subtleties of their soil, their environment, their work so that their bottles are this discrete bond between nature and themselves: source of marvellous user-friendliness. Exceptional Sancerre blanc L' Expression de Cécile “L' Essence des Terres Blanches” 2002, a wine of robe of a yellow shining, combining nervousness and fleshy, with the nose envoûtant, delicate and persistent, where one finds notes of white flowers, apple and nut, perfect on a fish with the furnace. Sancerre fermented François of the Barn 2004 is charmer, with the intense aromas, suave, very harmonious, subtle and powerful at the same time, where the ripe fruits and the fresh flowers intermingle, perfect on crayfish. Suberbe, the Sancerre blanc L' Expression de Cécile “L' Essence des Terres Blanches” 2006 develops these notes of smoked quite specific, a wine vinified very well, of brilliant and limpid robe, nose of fern and acacia, of a nice roundness, suave and persistent. The Sancerre rouge cuvée l' Enchantement 2005 (wine making and maturing out of barrels of oak), with the notes of prune and humus, very slightly spiced stops some as it should be, of intense color, with tannins present and silky at the same time, is a great wine. Their Sancerre rosé 2007 is always the best of the appellation, of a large aromatic smoothness, with the nose where the fresh fruits, the pink and the quince prevail, subtle, of a great persistence in mouth with nuances of strawberry of wood.
Family property since four generations, Château Pont Les Moines is located at the north of Bordeaux, in the area of Blayais, and extends on the commune of Civrac de Blaye. Vineyard of a surface of 29 ha, on ground argilo-limestone, where the vines have an average age 15 years. Traditional planted grape varieties of this area (70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet-Sauvignon), which produces coloured wines, robust and rounds in mouth. The wine making is traditional, with long fermentings and a maturing out of tanks during 14 month. That gives it Premières-Côtes-de-Blaye red 2007, a success, of intense robe, with the nose persistent, fullbodied and dense, very well-balanced in mouth. The 2006, of intense color, with the black fruit nose (blackcurrant, blackberry), with very well-balanced tannins, are a wine which continues its evolution. Very nice white Bordeaux Sauvignon Château Pont Moines 2009, with the aromas floral and fruity, harmonious, subtle and powerful at the same time, quite representative of this great vintage. Also discover the wines of their other property, Château Bran de Compostelle. Bordeaux Supérieur cuvée Louisa 2008, maturing in oak barrel 12 months, of which 1/3 of new barrels, traditional wine making with long fermenting (25 year old vines on average, 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet-Sauvignon, on ground argilo-limestone) fleshy, is spiced, with concentrated tannins, all in mouth, with nuances of blackberry and of smoked, of very good evolution. The 2007, robust but very elegant, of intense robe, with the nuances of vanilla and blackcurrant, is quite fullbodied, concentrate with the nose as in mouth, very well-balanced. The 2006 are tasty, of very good base tannic, fleshy, very well-balanced, rich and fleshy, with the nose prevailed by ripe blackcurrant and smoked. the quality-price-pleasure ratio avoids any hesitation.
Thanks to the patient reconstruction work carried out by Françoise and Henri Lévêque over the last 40 years, Château de Chantegrive has become a superb vineyard with excellent soils composed of a mixture of pebbles and fine sand on a clay-limestone structure. The vines are over 30 years old and are mostly planted on south-facing terraces and hilltops which provide excellent exposure to the sun and good ventilation - ideal for making quality wines. Château Chantegrive is managed by a pleasant family who are devoted to their profession, take the greatest care in their work and are attentive to the customer and the quality of the wines produced. "We like to produce elegant, top-quality wines with strong local character", says Françoise Lévêque. Their Caroline is a prestigious wine. We are quickly charmed by this rich, intense wine, matured in new barrels, with its lovely golden colour and intense, elegant nose of vanilla, fresh butter, lemon, griled almond and lime. The wine is smooth with a clean attack in the mouth dominated by fruit and flesh.
As its coat of arms, displayed over the entrance to its buildings testifies, during the 19th century this Château was home to the Compagnie du Soleil, one of the first insurance companies to cover fire risks. Founded by an Alsatian, Charles-Xavier Thomas, who also excelled himself by inventing the first industrial calculating machine, luck would have it that once again the Alsatian people took possession of the land to perpetuate the history of this beautiful estate. Further to the dissolution of the “Compagnie du Soleil”, the castle was sold and undertook wines production. Situated on the wine route which links Sauternes to Saint-Emilion, the vineyards stretch across a soft and undulating landscape that gives birth to rich and elegant wines. The vines of Château Fillon are planted at the foot of the hill of Launay, which is the highest point of the vineyards of Bordeaux. The estate stretches across a 115-hectare surface and is located 50-km away from the East of Bordeaux. 2 years ago, the Alsatian company BESTHEIM started to run Château Fillon. Producing high quality wines, with an impeccable presentation and with a very good value for money/pleasure is the main target of the estate. Sustainable agriculture is practiced there, as long as being respectful of environment belongs to the value and the commitments of the company. Château Fillon proposes this Bordeaux Supérieur “L’Apogée”. This outstanding cuvee, as we have been told, results from a plot-selection of more than 35-year old vines, facing due south. The blend is made equally from Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot. A prestigious cuvee, very well matured, well-balanced, developing ripe blackcurrant aromas as well as musty hints. It is also colorful and full-bodied, with an excellent evolution.