Winemaker Notes
This full-bodied Bordeaux red is created from a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. The deep colour offers ripe, lush, sweet, dark red fruits, silky textures with a blast of licorice, dark cocoa and black cherries in the finish. Notes of black cherry liqueur, espresso, chocolate and blackberry.
This Chateau d'Aiguilhe red is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes. Chateau d’Aiguilhe is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Château d'Aiguilhe checks in as 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc brought up in 30% new barrels before being bottled with no fining. As with the white, it has brilliant limestone character as well as vibrant strawberry and black raspberry fruits, hints of violets and flowers, background oak, and medium to full-bodied richness. It’s a balanced, high-quality 2016 well worth seeking out. Drink it over the coming 15 years or so.
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James Suckling
This is very precise with dark-berry, sandalwood and light chocolate character. Just a hint of sweet fruit and wet earth. Medium body, firm tannins and a pretty finish. Drinkable, but better in 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chateau d'Aiguilhe is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc picked from 30 September until 18 October, matured in 30% new oak. It has a warm and sensual bouquet: small macerated black cherries, blueberry and sloes, a light floral tincture emerging with time. This has a little more strictness compared to the 2015 last year. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and good body. Sappy black fruit, a touch of spice towards the finish, and you have yourself a very fine Côtes de Castillon. Rating: 90-92
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Wine Spectator
Juicy loganberry and black currant fruit forms an inviting core, while light bay, tobacco and violet notes fill in around the fruit. Offers a fleshy edge but keeps an emphasis on cut and drive through the finish.
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Decanter
This takes its time to open in the glass, slowly revealing its flavours one at a time, starting with tight, dark-fleshed brambly fruits and chocolate. Polished, glossy and vibrant. Drinking Window 2023 - 2038
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Though the region is larger than many of its Right Bank neighbors, it is one that consistently produces high quality, well-valued red wines. In fact, Cotes de Castillon can almost be considered a geographical eastern extension of St. Emilion, producing similarly-fashioned reds based on Merlot.
Vineyards in the region’s clay, limestone and sandstone soils produce sturdy red wines. On alluvial terraces, in vineyards closer to the Dordogne River, wines tend to be more supple and fruity. In either case, a great Cotes de Castillon red will be bursting with raspberry, plum and blueberry, have an enticing bouquet of dried flowers and a finish that is plush and opulent.