Red wine Flashcards
Grace ‘Akeno’ Bordeaux Blend story
Story: Aiming for a wine that provides a glimpse of the place where it is from, we have decided to combine the three second wines “Grace Merlot”, “Grace Cabernet Sauvignon” and “Grace Cabernet Franc”, whose varieties are listed on the front label, into a single wine from the 2017 vintage.
This new wine is “Akeno”, the name reflects our cherishment of its origin. It is a blend of three varieties from a single vineyard, or a “wine with a view” of where it is from. After rigorous selection in the vineyard and the winery, small lots were selected and vinified separately with scrupulous attention to details as well as gentle extraction. Each variety or lot was matured in French oak barrels and bottled without clarification or filtration.
Grace ‘Akeno’ Bordeaux Blend characteristsics
Grape Varieties: 44% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
Flavours: Ripe dark plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, leafy, herbaceous, smoky and meaty
Food Pairing: wagyu
Manoir du Carra Fleurie story
Story: This historic Domaine has been producing Beaujolais wines since 1850. The Domaine stretches over 34 hectares divided over many of the Cru Classe villages within Beaujolais. The beautiful vaulted cellar is still the hub of the winery. The Sambadier family have owned Manoir du Carra for many generations and take an active role in the vineyards and in the cellar.
The vines are tended to by hand and at harvest the bunches are picked by hand, and sorted on entry to the winery to check the individual grape quality. The wines produced show classic terroir and typicity, and have won many awards around the world.
Manoir du Carra Fleurie characteristics
Grape: Gamay Noir 100%
Flavour: violets, red berries, flint and spice on the powerful perfume,
Food pairing: All yakitoris, meatier nigiris
Marcel Lapierre Morgon story
Story: Marcel Lapierre was a leading light in France’s natural wine movement and Domaine Marcel Lapierre has been run by Marcel’s son Mathieu and daughter Camille since 2010. They continue the ethos of producing one of the finest wines of Beaujolais as naturally as possible. Old vines, natural yeasts and minimal intervention.
Marcel Lapierre Morgon characteristics
Grape: Gamey Noir 100%
Flavour: cherry, strawberry, violets, liquorice, oaky notes from 9 months oak aging
Food pairing: Beef tataki, Yakitoris, Pork
Domaine Nudant Bourgogne Rouge characteristics
Grape: Pinot Noir 100%
Flavour: fresh, juicy, fruity, red fruit aromas, subtle hint of savoury spice
Food pairing: Yakitori, Pork
Philippe Livera Gevry Chambertin ‘En Champs’ story
Story: This 8.5 hectare domaine was founded in 1920 by the great grandfather of Damien Livera, who currently runs the property. Prior to Damien taking over in 2007, the grapes (from old vines planted in the 50s and 60s) were sold to the large Beaune negociants. However, since 2007, there has been a total regeneration of the domaine – low yields, a strict form of lutte raisonée (La lutte raisonnée means ‘the reasoned struggle’. Growers who practice this kind of viticulture claim to use chemicals less often and less aggressively than conventional growers.) no herbicides, manual working of the soils and a total upgrading of the vineyards and a new winery.
Philippe Livera Gevry Chambertin ‘En Champs’ characteristics
Grape: Pinot Noir
Winemaking: The wines are matured in barrel for between 11-18 months and bottled without fining or filtration.
Flavour: red fruits, white pepper, liquorice, mineral, savoury , medium tannin
Food pairing: King Oyster Mushroom, Chutoro with truffle dashi, Pork
Clos de Tart Grand Cru Monopole story
Story: Clos de Tart as we know it today was founded in 1141 by Cistercian nuns of Tart Abbey, a dependent house of Cîteaux Abbey. Clos de Tart belonged to this order right up until the French Revolution. At the beginning of the Twelfth Century Clos de Tart was called Climat de la Forge. It was only after the Cistercian nuns of Tart Abbey acquired the land in 1141 that the Estate became known as Clos de Tart.
The Marey-Monge family sold Clos de Tart in an auction in 1932 to a Mâcon wine merchant, Henri Mommessin. Clos de Tart was then acquired by the Pinault family in 2018. Owners of several historic estates, including Château Latour in Pauillac and the Domaine d’Eugénie in Vosne-Romanée, the Pinault family are continuing to write the story of this famed-plot of 7.53 ha in Morey-Saint-Denis with just as much passion and permanent desire for excellence in all aspects of work.
Most of the Clos de Tart Grand Cru vines are at least 60 years old, bringing a great depth of flavour to the grapes.
Clos de Tart Grand Cru Monopole characteristics
Grape: Pinot Noir
Flavours: fresh red fruits, such as wild strawberry and loganberry as well as darker fruit flavours of blackcurrant and plum, along with earthy, spicy notes and a delicate floral perfume
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes, Domaine Glantenay story
Story: Coming from a line of winegrowers from father to son since the seventeenth century, the DOMAINE GEORGES GLANTENAY, located in Volnay in Côte-d’Or, Burgundy, is a family wine estate born from the division of the estate of Pierre Glantenay in 1893. After his son Georges and then his grandson Pierre, it is now the fourth generation who is at the head of the estate, represented by Guillaume and Sarah, brother and sister.
Domaine GEORGES GLANTENAY has 8 hectares of vines, managed in sustainable agriculture, with the greatest respect for the terroir. They own vineyards in Volnay, Pommard, Monthélie, Meursault and Chambolle-Musigny.
The harvest is entirely manual, and the selection rigorous: the grapes are sorted first in the vineyard and then a second time on arrival in the winery by means of a vibrating sorting table. All of their wines are vinified in thermoregulated stainless steel vats and then aged in French oak barrels for 10 to 18 months depending on the appellation.
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes, Domaine Glantenay characteristics
Winemaking: 7-day cold pre-fermentation maceration, temperature regulation. Vatting 30 days. Ageing on fine lees in oak barrels (50% new)
Grape: Pinot Noir
Flavours: red plum, violet, lilac, spices with a minerally finish
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Michel Gros Vosne Romanee 1er Cru ‘Clos de Reas’ story
Story: The Gros family is well regarded in the region, dating back six generations to 1830. The family estate was divided in 1995 between Jean Gros’ children, of which Michel is the eldest.
The estate produces Pinot Noir from some of the best sites in Burgundy, and is well known for its Premier Cru monopole vineyard, Clos de Réas. The Clos is on the south side of Vosne-Romanée, just below the Grand Cru of La Tache. The walls protect the vines from the wind and retain warmth, so they ripen 2-3 days earlier than adjoining vineyards. The Pinot Noir vines are 5 – 50 years old.The slope inclines only 3-4% within the Clos, so there is little water runoff erosion. It may be flat, but the soil is very stony, so there is rapid drainage. Michel Gros believes that drainage is the key to this terroir. The vines are never waterlogged and send their roots deep. There is also low soil humidity, so reducing the risk of fungal diseases.
The high walls around the Clos look ancient but are perhaps a mere 200 years old. Michel Gros thinks that they are from when the Monopole was first created in the nineteenth century, rather than Monastic
Michel Gros Vosne Romanee 1er Cru ‘Clos de Reas’ characteristics
Region: Côte de Nuits’
Grape: Pinot Noir
Flavour: Plenty of forest fruit here with ripe plums and damson crumble on the nose and palate which is complex, powerful, succulent and elegant. This is a classy, super Réas.
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Domaine Comte Georges du Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru story
Story: Established in 1450, it is now owned by sisters, Comtesse Claire de Causans and Marie de Ladoucette with the day to day management team comprising François Millet (technical director), Eric Bourgogne (vineyard manager) and Jean-Luc Pépin (sales and marketing director Chambolle-Musigny is a commune capable of producing wines which really charm. ‘Elegance’, ‘finesse’, ‘nobility’, ‘perfumed’ are all descriptions which flow from the pens of devotees, punctuated with others which infer understated, subliminal attributes, ‘seductive’, ‘beguiling’ and ‘enticing’ – hallmark Vogüé.
De Vogüé is a true producer of reference in Chambolle-Musigny, making a weightless yet flavour-packed style. The Domaine incorporates grands crus, premiers crus and villages Chambolle-Musigny in the holdings, including a tiny parcel of Musigny Blanc. Key here is exemplary terroir allied to strict vineyard husbandry and a sensitive, decisive hand in the cellar. The whole team is united in seeking the purest translation of the holdings within the context of each vintage
Domaine Comte Georges du Vogue Musign Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru characteristics
Grape: Pinot Noir
Vegetarian
Flavours: violet and rose petal with intensely spiced extravagant red and black pinot fruit, as well as leather, earth and stone
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Nuis-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru story
Story: Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is based in the wine appellation of Chassagne-Montrachet in Burgundy. The eldest son of Marc Colin, Pierre-Yves worked at the family domaine from 1994 to 2005. Meanwhile, with his wife Caroline (née Morey) he had established a négociant business in 2001 under the name Colin-Morey. After the 2005 harvest he left the family domaine, taking with him his six-hectare share of the vineyards, which now form part of the Colin-Morey label.
Pierre-Yves’s techniques have evolved since leaving the family domaine, in part in response to the problem of premature oxidation. There is no more battonage and the cellar is no longer heated to encourage the malolactic fermentation.
“Aux Boudots” is a special premier cru parcel that sits on the boundary of the northern Nuits-Saint-Georges and southern Vosne-Romanée border. It touches the famed premier cru of Aux Malconsorts and is a mere stone’s throw from Romanée-Conti’s grand cru of La Tâche.
Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Nuis-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru characteristics
Grape: Pinot Noir
Flavours: raspberry, blackberry, dark plum, spicy cinnamon and earthiness
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Pommard Domaine Justin Girardin story
Story: The first traces of the Girardin family in Burgundy goes back to 1570. Farmers for 13 generations, the family has worked for a long time in polyculture between the harvesting of crops, raising cattle and vine growing. It is only at the end of the second World War that the family specialises in winemaking.
In the late 50’s – 60’s, Jean Girardin acquires many parcels on the best terroirs of Santenay and begins to develop his estate. Jacques and Valérie, Justin’s parents, will continue this effort expanding to Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard and Savigny-les-Beaune. With the inheritance and other succession games, the estate continues to grow to cover today 17 hectares of vines over the best terroirs of the Côte de Beaune.
Pommard Domaine Justin Girardin characteristics
Grape: Pinot Noir
Vegan
Flavours: Rich, powerful and structured wine red fruit with spicy notes.
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Nicolas Rossignol Volnay 2014 story
Story: Nicolas Rossignol is one of the best examples of a new generation of Burgundy wine makers. Born in 1974, he represents the 5th generation of vine growers from Volnay. Today, Nicolas makes wine from his own estate, as well as from his fathers’ vineyards. Nicolas is now buying all the fruit from his family’s domaine, thus everything is bottled under the name Nicolas Rossignol (either with or without the word ‘domaine’.) Since all the vineyards are under his sole control throughout the year, all wines can be purchased with utmost confidence.
Nicolas Rossignol Volnay characteristics
Subregion: Côte de Beaune
Flavour: The wine is fruity and charmer. The tannins are soft and round with a lot of silk. Really good balance
Food pairing: Black cod, Duck, King Oyster Mushroom, Pork
Chateau Montus Madiran ‘Prestige’ 2000 story
Story: Montus was a vision purchased by Alain Brumont in 1979 with 12 hectares and today expanded to 85 hectares. The secret is the terroir. Unlike most of Madiran, the soil at Montus is similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, large pebbles or galets some 20in to 6ft in depth over a clay soil, and the slopes are steep. The grape varieties are 80% Tannat and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, planted at 5000 to 8000 vines per hectare, hence low yields and harvesting by hand.
The cellar today is a showpiece of which many a Bordeaux Château would be envious. Rows and rows of small and large stainless steel cuves and an enormous barrel.
Chateau Montus Madiran ‘Prestige’ characteristics
Region: Southwest of France
Grape: 100% Tannat
Aging: New oak 14-16 months
Flavour: powerful, tannic, blackberries, cherries, liquorice, cloves, and spices
Food pairing: Wagyu
Domaine de la Pallus Chinon ‘Les Messanges’ story
Story: In 2005, following his father’s retirement, Bertrand became the 5th generation of the family to hold the reins at Domaine de Pallus. His aim was, and is, to produce a wine of real acclaim at the estate, ultimately delivering the full potential of the Chinon soils, whilst also respecting its best ancient traditions. Chinon Rouge ‘Les Messanges’: named after the original home of Cabernet Franc: the village of Messanges in South West France. The aim, here, is to let the fruit express its full charm and seductive personality.
Domaine de la Pallus Chinon ‘Les Messanges’ characteristics
Grape: 100% Cabernet Franc
Flavor: Enticing cranberry and cherry character, with underlying notes of bell pepper, rosemary, bay leaf and tobacco. Its fine tannins and vibrant acidity, make this a seriously easy to drink wine that pairs brilliantly with food.
Food pairing: Yakitori
Grolleau VdP du Val de Loire Clau de Nell story
Story: The Clau de Nell wine estate is a rich and authentic French brand that is known for the history attached to it. In 2008 the owners of the estate were left with no option but to file for bankruptcy when Anne Claude & Christian (wife and husband who aimed to ensure that the French biodynamic winegrowers earned a name for themselves in the international arena) helped the estate which is located exactly between Angers and Saumur to see improvements and start producing quality wines from Chenin and Grolleau.
Grolleau VdP du Val de Loire Clau de Nell characteristics
Grape: Grolleau 100%
Oragnic & Biodynamic
Flavor: Juice and intense red that is full of freshness. Savory, red fruit forward with some vegetal and leafy notes.
Food pairing: Duck
Cotes-du-Rhone Vignobles Gonnet story
Story: The Gonnet family estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape was developed by Etienne Gonnet in the 1950s. Run today by Etienne’s sons, Jean and Michel Gonnet, the estate’s quality credentials could not be more impressive: thirty hectares of vineyards running up to Le Crau (arguably the most revered vineyard plot in the entire Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation)
Cotes-du-Rhone Vignobles Gonnet characteristics
Grapes: Grenache 35%, Syrah 35%, Cinsault 30%
Flavor: dried herbs, dark fruit, red fruit, rustic, violet and plum notes
Food pairing: Pork, Chicken Yakitori
Saint-Joseph Domaine Andre Perret story
Story: André Perret needs little introduction: he is the master of light-footed, complex Viogniers from the granite soils of Condrieu. However he also has 5 hectares in St Joseph where he produces Syrah of great quality and value. St Joseph is young and the longest appellation in the Rhone which has seen expansion as producers feel that there is great potential of it’s terroir.
Saint-Joseph Domaine Andre Perret characteristics
Region: Northern Rhone
Grape: Syrah 100%
Flavor: red, dark fruits, leather, smoke, vanilla and savory notes
Food pairing: Duck, Chicken Yakitori
Cotie Rotie ‘La Germine’ story
Story: The Rostaing estate dates to 1971 when René Rostaing– a Notary by trade – began tending a few plots of family vineyards. He had the perfect role model to guide him into a career of classical winemaking: Marius Gentaz, his uncle. Over the next few years, René took advantage not only of his uncle’s mentoring, but of historically low vineyard prices, to acquire a prized half acre each in the Côte Blonde and La Landonne lieux-dits.
And when he married, he acquired a second traditional role model, his father-in-law, Albert Dervieux. Dervieux retired in 1989 and Gentaz followed three years later, giving René a further ten acres of very old vines in some of the appellation’s top sites. This treasury of vineyards launched René’s estate into the stratosphere.
The vineyard expansion also enabled René to quit his day job and to devote himself full time to winemaking. Over the next 25+ years, he crafted a sequence of masterful wines that honored the legacy of his illustrious forebearers. In 2015, René’s son, Pierre, took the reins at an estate that boasts 20+ acres of the finest vineyards in and around Côte Rôtie. And, he shares his father’s deep reverence for Côte Rôtie’s traditions
Cotie Rotie ‘La Germine’ characteristics
Grape: Syrah
Flavour: blackberry, black pepper, black plum, leather
Food pairing: wagyu
Gigondas Vieilles Vignes Tardieu-Laurent story
Story: Tardieu-Laurent is a French négociant enterprise known for the consistently high quality of its wines, which come from the Rhône Valley and from other parts of southern France. It was set up in 1994 by Dominque Laurent and Michel Tardieu, though is now run solely by the latter.
The company has no vineyard holdings. Rather, it buys young wines, which are then matured and blended before bottling. Despite this, Tardieu-Laurent is very much an artisan producer – around 20 barrels only are made of each wine every year.
Gigondas Vieilles Vignes Tardieu-Laurent characteristics
Grape: Syrah & Grenache
Flavor: spicy, oaky, red and black fruits
Food pairing: Wagyu, Pork
Chateau Fourcas-Dupre Listrac-Medoc
Story: Château Fourcas Dupré is a wine estate in the Listrac-Médoc appellation, 35km (22 miles) northwest of Bordeaux city center, in the wider Médoc region on the left bank of the Gironde estuary. The estate produces a number of red and white wines and has occasionally released a rosé.
The château was established in 1844 and had been owned by the Pagès family since 1970
Chateau Fourcas-Dupre Listrac-Medoc characteristics
Grape: Cabernet & Merlot with a bit of Petit Verdot
Aging: The wine is aged for 12 months in oak barrels, one third of which are new each vintage.
Flavor: Intense ruby coloured. Complex aromas of black fruits, spice and tobacco. Smooth tannins.
Food pairing: Wagyu, duck, yakitori
La Chapelle de Haut Bages Liberal, Pauillac characteristics
Flavor: The nose is intense, precise and complex with notes of tobacco, cigar box, cedar and black currant. On the palate, the tannins are fine and ripe. Beautiful expression of black fruits. The end is long and round.
Grapes; 60% Cabernet 40% Merlot
Food pairing: Wagyu, duck, yakitori
La Chapelle de Haut Bages Liberal, Pauillac story
Story: La Chapelle de Haut-Bages Libéral is the second wine from Château Haut-Bages Liberal. Coming from young vines generally under 15 years of age, it benefits from all the tools and knowledge of a 5th Classified Crop. An excellent illustration of the property remains.
Chateau Batailley Pauillac Grand Cru Classe story
Story: Château Batailley is a well-regarded wine estate in the Pauillac appellation of Bordeaux’s northern Médoc region. The estate – one of the oldest in the area – was classified as a fifth growth in the 1855 classification of the Médoc and Graves.The wine has, for decades, had a reputation for good value, though recent years are widely judged to show ever greater finesse and complexity. The name Batailley derives from a battle which took place on, or near to, the estate in 1452, during the Hundred Years’ War. The first vines were planted not long afterwards
Chateau Batailley Pauillac Grand Cru Classe characteristisc
Region (AOC): Pauillac
Grape: Cabernet & Merlot
Flavor: cassis, oak, red berries, dark berries, tertiary
Food pairing: Wagyu
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 story
Story: Originally known as Château Brane-Mouton, its red wine was renamed by Nathaniel de Rothschild in 1853 to Château Mouton Rothschild.
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 was based entirely on recent market prices for a vineyard’s wines, with one exception: Château Mouton Rothschild. Despite the market prices for their vineyard’s wines equalling that of Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild was excluded from First Great Growth status, an act that Baron Philippe de Rothschild referred to as “the monstrous injustice”.[4] It is believed[weasel words] that the exception was made because the vineyard had recently been purchased by an Englishman and was no longer in French ownership.
In 1973, Mouton was elevated to “first growth” status after decades of intense lobbying by its powerful and influential owner,[1] the only change in the original 1855 classification
Each year since 1945, the Château Mouton Rothschild label has been illustrated with an artwork by a leading painter, specially created for the vintage. Thus, the most famous names in contemporary painting have been brought together in a collection to which a new work is added each year.
For 2000, in an exceptional departure from this tradition, Baroness Philippine has not commissioned a painter. The bottle “in person” has become a collector’s item, its very glass adorned with a treasure from the Museum of Wine in Art at Mouton: the little “Augsburg Ram”, a chased silver-gilt drinking vessel created around 1590 by Jakob Schenauer, a German master goldsmith.
Chateau Mouton Rotschild 2000 characteristics
Grapes: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot
Flavours: jammy dark fruits, cassis and prunes, with fern and forest floor, coffee and leather
Food pairing: wagyu
Chateau Leoville Barton 2005 story
Story: Léoville Barton, along with Château Léoville-Las Cases and Château Léoville-Poyferré was once part of the vast Léoville estate. The estate was purchased by Hugh Barton in 1826 and continues to be owned by the Barton family, of Irish descent. Barton arrived in The current owner Anthony Barton began running the estate in 1983, along with its sister property Château Langoa Barton. Léoville Barton’s 116 acres (47 ha) vineyard is located in the central part of the appellation along the Gironde river. The soil composition is mostly gravel with a subsoil of clay
Chateau Leoville Barton 2005 characteristics
Grapes: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot
Flavours: rich dark fruits, spices, cedar and cigar box, with lots of fine-grained tannins
Food pairing: wagyu
Chateau Brane-Cantenac Margaux Grand Cru Classe 2005 story
Story: Château Brane-Cantenac is a well-regarded wine estate based in the Margaux appellation, in the Haut-Médoc region just north of Bordeaux city. The estate was ranked a second growth in the 1855 Classification of the Médoc and Graves and regularly receives praise for its eponymously titled “grand vin” Dating back to the 17th Century, the estate was purchased after the French Revolution by Baron Jacques-Maxime de Brane, who gave it his name.
Chateau Brane-Cantenac Margaux Grand Cru Classe 2005 characteristics
Vintage 2005: Extraordinary The combination of warm days, cold nights and just enough rain at the right moments produced extraordinary 2005 Bordeaux wine!
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon 53%, 40% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc
Flavor: black fruits, oak, tertiary, savoury
Chateau Margaux 2009 story
Region: Margaux, Bordeaux, France
Story: With origins dating back to the 12th century, Château Margaux is one of the Grands Crus that exemplifies the legend of fine Bordeaux wines throughout the world. In 1855, the château was awarded the title of Premier Grand Cru Classé and was the only one of the four contenders to have obtained an impeccable twenty out of twenty score.
Chateau Margaux characteristics
Grapes: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Flavours: fragrant minted cassis, lilacs, Black Forest cake and oolong tea scents with touches of pencil shavings and dusty soil
Food pairing: wagyu
Chateau Barrail du Blanc Grand Cru St-Emilion story
Story: Historically the family, who has owned the estate for over 150 years, used to sell their grapes but in 1995 they decided to make their own wine. Considerable investment was necessary and new thermo-regulated tanks were installed, as well as a maturation cellar – all to improve quality. By virtue of the terroir here, this can never be a massively powerful wine – but so much the better. Wine consumers need such approachable, easy drinking wines
Chateau Barrail du Blanc Grand Cru St-Emilion characteristics
Grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
Vegetarian
Flavor: blackberry, blackcurrant, tobacco, oak, chocolate, leather, smoke.
Food pairing: Wagyu, duck
Chateau Rocheyron Grand Cru St-Emilion story
Story: Peter Sisseck (Dominio de Pingus) and Silvio Denz (Château Faugères) discovered these 7.5 hectares of prime quality terroir, the lieu-dit of Rocheyron, on the edge of the famous limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion. The vineyard is situated in Saint-Christophe-de-Bardes and is planted with Cabernet Franc and Merlot of 60 and 40 year old vines respectively. The vineyard is organic, the better to fulful the main philosophy behind this venture, namely that the finished wine should be the most honest translation of this chosen terroir. Vinification, to the same end, is minimal.
Chateau Rocheyron Grand Cru St-Emilion characteristics
Grapes: Merlot blend
Vegan
Flavor: black plum, blackberry, spice, cedar
Food pairing: wagyu, duck
Chateau Valois Pomerol story
Story: Château de Valois dates back to 1862 when the original vineyards of Château Figeac
were restructured. In 1962, Bernard Leydet owned the vineyard comprising eight
hectares. Over time, he added to the Pomerol plots and concentrated on improving
the quality through improved vineyard management techniques and investment of the
cellar.
Chateau Valois Pommard characteristics
Grapes: Merlot 72% , Cabernet Franc 28%
Vegetarian & Vegan
Organic
Flavor: The nose is bursting with black berries, exotic spice and hints of smoky oak and cedar.
On the palate, the texture is rich and generous, with soft tannins. The finish has a good
freshness and is full of lingering ripe fruit.
Aging: The wine is aged in oak barrels (35% new) for 14 months before bottling
Food pairing: Wagyu, Pork
L’Eclat du Valois characteristics
Region: Bordeaux, France
Story: Top wine from the above Château de Valois
Grapes: 54% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc
Flavours: Ripe wild blackcurrant, bright blackberry and slightly crushed currant notes are combined with hints of crushed strawberry, Morello cherry as well as hints of wet stone, incense, nutmeg, vanilla and a hint of tobacco.
Food pairing: wagyu, pork
Petrus 2005 and 2006 story
Story: Petrus is easily Pomerol’s most important wine and is one of the most notable estates in Bordeaux. The Merlot-based wine comes from an 11.4-hectare (28-acre) vineyard in the eastern part of the Pomerol appellation, and is known for being rich and powerful, with characteristics of chocolate, spice, and black fruit. Petrus is one of the world’s most collectable and expensive wines.
The original 7-hectare (17-acre) vineyard is located on a mound where the soil is almost all clay, unlike nearby properties where there is more gravel or sand in the soil. The high clay content is particularly suitable for Merlot – a unique second layer of dense blue clay forces root systems to spread sideways. This feature is often credited with giving Petrus its soft but abundant tannins.
Records of Petrus date back to 1837 but the estate’s superstardom has come more recently, when the Moeuix family bought a half share in 1962. Since then, it has become a fixture in cellars and on auction lists, and consistently fetches higher prices than many of the Bordeaux.
Chateaneauf Du Pape ‘Cuvee Reserve’ Domaine Pegau story
Story: Domaine du Pegau is a well-known and respected wine producer based in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It is known for its traditional-styled wines from that appellation, based on the Grenache grape variety.
The domaine in its modern form was created by Paul Feraud, the son of Elvira and Leon, in 1987. He had previously produced and sold a small amount of wine each year to negociants around France. His daughter Laurence, back from her winemaking and wine business studies, convinced him to create an independently owned family domaine. Within a few years it was regarded as one of the best in the appellation.
The winery was built in 1989 and today the majority of the wines are produced there
