Chateau Rauzan-Gassies 2001

Grapes are hand-picked. Fermentations last about 3 weeks in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, with frequent pumping-overs and addition of yeasts. Wines are afterward transferred to oak barrels, of which 25% are new, for 14-18 months aging. They are fined and filtered prior to bottling. No press wine is added into the grand vin.

The vineyards of Rauzan-Gassies are situated on alluvial terraces. Sixty percent of them are situated just around the chateau itself, and the remaining vineyards (gravelly soils) border Chateau Margaux, Palmer, and Lascombes.

In style, Rauzan-Gassies tends toward heaviness and corpulence for a Margaux, without the fragranceor finesse normally associated with the better wines of this commune. However, it can make fairly concentrated, powerful wines. In most vintages, the wines of Rauzan-Gassies have reached maturity surprisingly fast for a classified growth, usually within 7-8 years of the vintage.