Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
On a quest for the highest quality since its very beginnings, Alexis Lichine & Co places its expertise at the service of its partner vintners, to create wines that are tailored to the tastes of wine lovers everywhere. Today, this tradition continues thanks to our close work with our producers. They are chosen for the quality of their wines, their appellation and their choice of an integrated farming approach.
Following in the footsteps of Mr. Lichine, their team of oenologists works throughout the year with their partner vintners, from pruning the vines to picking the grapes, together ensuring the growth of the highest quality grapes. The choices of vineyard methods, such as nipping off buds, pruning, disease prevention, leaf management and even the harvest date, are made together, to meet everyone’s criteria and objectives.
Alexis Lichine has chosen to build close ties with its partner vintners, ensuring permanent dialogue to guarantee total quality and complete traceability of its wines. Once the grapes are ripe, Alexis Lichine & Co buy the harvest and take care of the vinification. This is done according to traditional methods, incorporating the latest innovative techniques to create the best quality wines that respect the specific characteristics of each grape variety. Thanks to this logic of close and shared partnership, the Alexis Lichine & Co guarantee has become synonymous with quality and excellence, for all their products.
An extensive appellation producing a diverse selection of good quality and great values, Languedoc spans the Mediterranean coast from the Pyrenees mountains of Roussillon all the way to the Rhône Valley. Languedoc’s terrain is generally flat coastal plains, with a warm Mediterranean climate and frequent risk of drought.
Virtually every style of wine is made in this expansive region. Most dry wines are blends with varietal choice strongly influenced by the neighboring Rhône Valley. For reds and rosés, the primary grapes include Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault and Mourvèdre. White varieties include Grenache Blanc, Muscat, Ugni Blanc, Vermentino, Macabéo, Clairette, Piquepoul and Bourbelenc.
International varieties are also planted in large numbers here, in particular Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The key region for sparkling wines here is Limoux, where Blanquette de Limoux is believed to have been the first sparkling wine made in France, even before Champagne. Crémant de Limoux is produced in a more modern style.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.