Winemaker Notes
Blend: 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a savory and fresh red with berries, tile and dried spice, such as nutmeg. Pine needles, too. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins and a crisp finish. A blend of wines from Monbousquet, Pavie and Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux. Drinking nicely now.
In most of France, wines are named by their place of origin and not by the type of grape (with the exception of Alsace). Just like a red Burgundy is by law, always made of Pinot noir, a red Bordeaux is a blended wine composed mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Depending on the laws of the village from which the grapes come, the conditions of the vintage and decisions of the winemaker, the blend can be further supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and in rare cases, Carmenere. So popular and repeated has this mix of grape varieties become worldwide, that the term, Bordeaux Blend, refers to a wine blended in this style, regardless of origin.