Mas des Capitelles La Catiede 2016

Mas des Capitelles Faugeres Vieilles Vignes  is made from 50% Mourvedre, 25% Carignan and 25% Syrah

Deep inky color in the glass. Aromas of raspberry, cherry and hints of vanilla round out the nose. Medium to full-bodied and very well structured with ripe chewy tannins. Flavors of peppery humus, cherry and hints of leather flow towards a lengthy & spicy finish.

Manual harvest. 
Unfiltered and minimum use of SO2. 
Long vating 30 days 
Average yield is 25 hl/ha.
The Carignan vines are 80 years old in average.

Delicious with lamb and grilled vegetable.

Review:

Even better, the 2016 Faugères Vieilles Vignes checks in as 50% Mourvèdre and 25% each of Carignan and Syrah, brought up in 80% tanks and 20% French oak. Deeper colored, with a powerful bouquet of dark fruits, plums, crushed rocks, and licorice, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, loads of fruit, a stacked mid-palate, and a great finish. It’s not the most elegant wine out there, but it has loads of character and is a joy to drink. Enjoy bottles over the coming 7-8 years. - Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points

Mas des Capitelles Vintage Faugeres 40% Old Vines Carignan, 30% Mourvedre and 30% Grenache

No oak.

This wine has a purple intense color.
Aromas are reminicent of Mediterranean character with blackberry, garrigue, thyme and some herbal spice.
The mouthfeel is rich and fresh with some mintiness and a great length to the finish.

We called this new cuvée "Vintage" because this wine represents for us both tradition and modernity.
Tradition because in French, this term is used to designate old products having a style and excellent quality.
Modernity because we also wanted an international name, open to the world and understood by all wine lovers.

"La Catiede" is the name of the "Lieu-dit" where the vines are planted. It has been in the Laugé family for many generations and naming a Cuvée La Catiede represent the heritage and an hommage to their ancestors.

Grown on Schist soilsThe Carignan and the Mourvedre are aged in French Oak barrels for 24 months.

Minimum use of Sulfites
Traditional vinification with 30 days skin contact maceration.
The Grenache was vinified with delicacy, the Mourvèdre was harvested at optimum maturity and the Carignan was selected from our oldest vines
Average yield of 20 hl/ha.
Unfiltered wine

Pairs with delicious with lamb and grilled vegetables.

Review:

"The most expensive release in the 2015 Faugères Vintage, which comes from very old vine Carignan, Mourvèdre and Grenache, with the Carignan and Mourvèdre brought up barrel, and the Grenache all in tank. It shows some oak influence yet has wonderful fruit, notes of white flowers, vanilla, and pepper, medium to full body, and an elegant, seamless texture. Give bottles a year or so and it should keep nicely through 2025. It’s another beautiful wine from this estate."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 92 pts

Mas des Capitelles Faugeres Vieilles Vignes  is made from 50% Mourvedre, 25% Carignan and 25% Syrah

Deep inky color in the glass. Aromas of raspberry, cherry and hints of vanilla round out the nose. Medium to full-bodied and very well structured with ripe chewy tannins. Flavors of peppery humus, cherry and hints of leather flow towards a lengthy & spicy finish.

Manual harvest. 
Unfiltered and minimum use of SO2. 
Long vating 30 days 
Average yield is 25 hl/ha.
The Carignan vines are 80 years old in average.

Delicious with lamb and grilled vegetable.

Review:

"Just about overflowing with character, the 2018 Faugères Vieilles Vignes (Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Syrah) reveals a ruby/purple hue as well as great nose of flowery incense, garrigue, licorice, ground pepper, and black cherries. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, rounded, supple Faugères with some obvious minerality, impressive fruit, and some firm underlying tannins. It needs a year or so for the tannins to soften, but it's a delicious drink already."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2021), 91 pts

Landes Grand Heritage Lussac Saint Emilion is made from 100 percent Merlot.

First vintage of this wine was 2010 to pay tribute to the founding father of Chateau des Landes - Paul Lassagne. He gave the family a great legacy of terroir, passion and know-how to craft this great cuvee produced from a selection of the finest grapes that are vinified and aged in 600 liter French oak foudres, just like it was done in the old days. The resulting wine is complex and aromatic offering bold aromas and flavors of dark berries, floral tones, spice, oak and vanilla. The palate is onctuous and powerful, well structured with ripe tannins. Well balanced and a complex finish. 

Average age of the Vines: 60 years Yield : 50 hectoliters / hectare. Grape picking: harvest by machine. Vats: Stainless steel thermoregulated and computerized. Fermentation: 45 to 50 days with a final 35°C warm steeping. Winemaking: Malolactic fermentation in new oak barrel. Ageing: 16 months in new French Oak barrels from Allier and Limousin. Annual production: 10,000 bottles. (833 cases)

Review:

"The flagship cuvée is the 2016 Chateau des Landes Grand Heritage, which is all Merlot from older vines that spent 16 months in new oak. It’s more backward and tight at the moment, yet has classic black fruits, charcoal, and graphite notes, with plenty of oak. I like its mid-palate, and it’s nicely concentrated, yet the cellar will be your friend on this one. Give bottles 2-4 years and it should keep for more than a decade."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 90+ pts

Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee des Cadettes is made from 52% Grenache, 38% Syrah and 10% Mourverdre. 

Review:

Similarly colored, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Cadettes is a Grenache-heavy blend that includes 38% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. It was not destemmed and was brought up in 28% new barrels, with the balance in foudres. It offers more cassis, graphite, spicy wood, and minerality, full-bodied richness, a deep, powerful texture, integrated acidity, and awesome structure. It's a rock star wine from this estate that won't hit maturity for a decade and will keep for 10-15 years after that in cold cellars. It’s the finest wine from this estate since the 2010, 2005, and 1998.

-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points

This is a luscious, creamy wine that's full of rich black-cherry and berry flavors edged by piquant hits of anise and black pepper. A concentrated wine structured by firm, taut tannins, it maintains lively freshness on the midpalate. This powerful wine is a bit unwieldy in its youth but should gain finesse through 2030 and hold further still.

-Wine Enthusiast 96 Points

Prepared with Tempranillo grapes (100%), this wine has a very bright, intense maraschino cherry colour that fades to a Cardinal red rim.

It has a very marked aroma with a good balance of fruit and wood, where tones of vanilla intermingle with well-ripened fruit, black berries and wild fruits. There are also noticeable hints of leather and liquorice, resulting from the mingling of the French oak and the aromas inherent in this variety of grape. 

In the mouth, the wine has a smooth texture but fills the palate with balanced flavours, including fine tannins, which help extend the life of the wine. The finish and aftertaste are both long and elegant.

Vineyard: 

Pago de los Capellanes, Pedrosa de Duero. 

Variety composition: 

100% Tempranillo.

Type of soil: 

Clayey and chalky. 

Aging: 

12 months in barrel and remainder on rack.

Type of oak: 

100% French oak, medium toast.

Serving: 

Uncork and decant one hour before serving at a temperature of 16-18 ºC.

Selected harvest with yields limited to 5000 kg per hectare. The harvest begins in early October, starting with the most mature parcels. Once the grapes are brought into the winery, the tanks are seeded with indigenous yeast (start culture) and the alcoholic fermentation begins. During the barrelling period, which lasts 30 days, the wine is crushed and pumped over daily, all the while controlling the density, temperature and evolution of the yeast. At the end of this fermentation, the tanks are emptied and the wine taken for malolactic fermentation.

The malolactic fermentation begins without the addition of bacteria. The temperature is held steady at 20ºC for period of 22 days, during which we monitor the levels of malic and lactic acids. When the malic acid content is less than 0.1 grams per litre, the wine is decanted to separate the lees and is transferred directly to the barrels without undergoing any type of filtration, clarification or cold treatment.

The wine is aged for twelve months in new and semi-new French oak barrels (no more than three years old). At the end of this period, it is taken to the tank for homogenisation, where it undergoes light filtration through cartridges (open pore) and is then bottled.

 Review:

Black cherry, cranberry and blackberry flavors are bright and expressive in this lively red, accented by vanilla, tangerine and floral notes. The tannins are chewy but balanced by tangy acidity. Drink now through 2030. 39,000 cases made, 1,100 cases imported. -Wine Spectator 90 Points