Country: | France |
Region: | Bordeaux |
Winery: | Beard La Chapelle |
Grape Type: | Merlot |
Organic: | Yes |
Vintage: | 2012 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Chateau Franc Lartigue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is made from Merlot 70%, Cabernet franc 15%, Cabernet sauvignon 15%
Eight hectare property in the town of Saint-Emilion. Elegant and structured wine, keep for 10 to 15 years depending on the vintage.
Review:
Vines with an average age of 35 years have produced a concentrated wine. It is rich and full, while also having restraint and elegance. That makes for a fine balancing act of generous tannins and opulent black fruits. Drink the wine from 2021
- Wine Enthusiast 92 Points
Chateau Franc Lartigue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is made from Merlot 70%, Cabernet franc 15%, Cabernet sauvignon 15%
Eight hectare property in the town of Saint-Emilion. Elegant and structured wine, keep for 10 to 15 years depending on the vintage.
Review:
Bold and rich, this ripe black-currant-flavored wine come from vineyards on the plain below Saint-Émilion center. With the rich Merlot dominant, the wine has density and concentration that will allow it to age. Drink from 2023.
-Wine Enthusiast 91 Points
Chateau Talbot Saint-Julien Grand Cru Classe is made from 69 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 % Merlot, 5 % Petit Verdot.
The wine presents a delicate and captivating nose of black fruits, fresh tobacco, peppermint and floral nuances. Ripe and juicy fruit flavors of black currants on the palate with well integrated velvety tannins and a beautiful refreshing acidity to the long finish.
For the 2018 vintage, a special packaging with a unique silkscreen printing bottle was created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cordier Family's acquisition of Chateau Talbot
Pair with red meat, roast pork, game meat, poultry, hard cheeses, poached pear.
"Rich aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, chocolate, tobacco and licorice. Oyster shell, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, well integrated tannins. Polished, silky layers with a long finish. Gorgeous ripe and bright fruit in the center palate. Best in a long time. Try from 2025."
Chateau Talbot Saint-Julien Grand Cru Classe is made from 69 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 % Merlot, 5 % Petit Verdot.
The wine presents a delicate and captivating nose of black fruits, fresh tobacco, peppermint and floral nuances. Ripe and juicy fruit flavors of black currants on the palate with well integrated velvety tannins and a beautiful refreshing acidity to the long finish.
For the 2018 vintage, a special packaging with a unique silkscreen printing bottle was created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cordier Family's acquisition of Chateau Talbot
Pair with red meat, roast pork, game meat, poultry, hard cheeses, poached pear.
"Well-built and rather refined for the vintage, with a deep well of red and black currant paste and plum reduction flavors supported by a deeply inlaid iron note, all of which run the length of the wine. Offers subtle savory, tobacco and singed cedar notes that add range, with a savory echo that leaves a mouthwatering feel in the end. Built to cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. - James Molesworth"
- Wine Spectator (March 2022), 95 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)
Tours de Laroque Saint Emilion is made from 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc.
Les Tours de Laroque Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is the second wine from Chateau Laroque, a selection of over 50 year-old vines that shows finesse, purity and authenticity of this great terroir.
The wine is particularly attractive and approachable when young with its bright, floral and spicy character. It is elegant and velvety, has a fresh salinity and a noble texture, and offers good acidity with firm tannins.
Review:
"Lots of dark chocolate on the nose with blueberries, ripe blackberries, plums, dried lavender, toast and mahogany. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins. Needs time to soften. Try in 2025."
- James Suckling (January 2022), 91 pts
Appellation: Saint- Emilion
Composition: 90% Merlot,7% Cabernet Franc,3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: Ageing is for 12 months.
Tasting Notes: Dark purple in the glass. Aromas of blackcurrant, vanilla and a touch of wood on the nose. At first taste you can tell this wine will take on some age. Rich and layered, but held back due to its youth. Soft tannins blend with black fruit flavors and a touch of mineral on the finish. Drink over the next 7 to 10 years. This vintage is more approachable at an early age then the previous two vintages.
Soil: Limestone-clay on the "côtes" and deep-lying sand on the "pieds de côtes".
Avg Age of Vines: Vines have an average age of 40 years.
Vinification: Grapes are picked by hand and machine, but manually sorted after destemming. The vinification is a traditional with three gentle pumping overs per day and with one or two rack and returns carried out during the period of fermentation. Total time in vat is between 3 to 4 weeks
Awards: 2013 Gilbert & Gaillard Guide - Gold Medal
ituated in the Gironde, in the village of Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, one of the eight communes in the Juridiction of St Emilion which has been classed as an official World Heritage UNESCO site since 1999. The 18 hectare estate of Béard La Chapelle is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée Saint Emilion Grand Cru. The Appellation of Grand Cru St Emilion stipulates a planting density of only 5,500 vines per hectare and a maximum yield of 49 hectolitres per hectare.
This yield is one of the lowest in Bordeaux and enforces producers to reduce the production of each vine making the grapes harvested more concentrated in terms of colour, tannins and aromas.
The property of Château Béard La Chapelle has been in the same family for 9 generations and has had two main chapters in its history. In 1980, Richard Moureau took over the vineyards from his parents and built a cellar next to the single vineyard plot “Béard”, the site of an ancient chapel from which the property took its name. He received the following year the « le Chapitre des Honneurs » of Saint Emilion for his 1981 vintage awarded to him by the famous oenologist, Emile Peynaud. In 2006, Richard’s son Franck left his career in journalism to take over the running of the estate.
In 2009 his sister Laurence takes in charge communication and export issues. The estate has grown by a few hectares, vines have been replaced and the density of the vineyards has been increased to 7,600 vines per hectare. The winery has been updated and procedures such as “green harvesting” deleafing, desuckering and removing the superfluous bunches of grapes) have been introduced systematically.
There are 18 hectares of vineyards grow in clay and limestone soils on the slopes of St Emilion and deep sand on the base of the slopes. The average age of the vines is 40 years and the density of the vines is 5,500 per hectare for the oldest parcels of vines and 7,600 vines per hectare for all of the plots that have been replanted. Béard La Chapelle is a wine made from the three main grape varieties of the appellation:
Béard La Chapelle produces 100,000 bottles per year. Franck Moureau is the wine maker and runs the property with the help of two full-time workers (and their wives who work part-time in the vineyards). They have worked for the property for over 20 years.
In addition, seasonal workers are employed for jobs such as the “green harvest” and for deleafing prior to harvest-time. Franck’s sister, Laurence, is in charge of the promotion of the vineyard brand and the development of international sales.
Between mid December and mid February when the sap is in the roots of the vine, pruning takes place ; “Guyot simple” (1 branch with 7 buds). In the summer the the excess leaves of the vine are removed to give good aeration and to better expose the bunches of grapes to the sun. A “green harvest” is also carried out to ensure that there are only 7 bunches of grapes per vine. In parallel the vines are treated to protect them from disease but only when absolutely necessary. Alternative practices (such as spraying with an organic adjuvant and use of “intercep” machinery) are being trialled to ensure that Béard La Chapelle is produced as naturally as possible.
Grass is grown in between the vines on alternate rows which allows any excess water to be absorbed. In addition alternate rows are cultivated to encourage microbial life and to encourage roots to delve deep.
The winery has a capacity of 2,000 hectolitres and the stainless steel vats are thermo-regulated. The equipment in the winery includes a pneumatic press for gentle pressing, a destemming machine and a sorting table. The underground ageing cellar holds 300 french oak “barriques” from five different coopers (medium toast). At the time of harvest after destemming, the grapes are sorted by hand on the sorting table. A cold soak is carried out during a period of five days at 7° before fermentation begins. The vinification is traditional with four gentle pumping overs per day and with one rack and returns carried out during the period of fermentation. The total time in vat is between 3 to 4 weeks. The wine is aged for 12 months, in one third new barrels, one third barrels of one “wine” and one third barrels of two “wines”.
The wine in barrel is racked on average four times during its ageing depending on the vintage. At the end of ageing, the different lots of the wine are blended before being fined with egg whites. The wine is bottled at the property.
Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux Grand Cru is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.
Jean Grivot’s 15.5 hectares spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.
About the Vineyard:
Echézeaux grand cru is a large vineyard of 38 hectares divided into 11 individual climats. Grivot’s parcel is in the climat of Les Cruots and lies at the southern end of Echézeaux near the premier cru of Les Suchots. A good Echézeaux should have rich fruit, considerable earthiness, and be very complete on the palate.
Tasting Notes:
The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 40-70% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.
Food Pairing:
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Review:
A very elegant expression of Echezeaux, with a velvety black plum and rose petal fruit. There is a lovely freshness and so much finesse that the tannin and structure might surprise you at the end. This has the substance to age for decades. Produced from a 0.84ha parcel in Cruots next to Comte Liger-Belair. The vines were planted in 1954 and the destemmed fruit was gently fermented.
This is pure, racy and enticing, hosting aromas and flavors of black currant, blackberry, violet and iron. This is about finesse, grace and precision balance, with saturated fruit flavors persisting on the superlong aftertaste. Needs a decade in the cellar.
-Wine Spectator 97 Points
The 2019 Heart of the Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps our most sophisticated bottling yet from this superlative site. The color is an impenetrable purple/black with almost no rim variation. The aromas are exotic and dusty: wild strawberries, black raspberries, dark chocolate, sandalwood, fennel and fresh violets explode in the glass. On the palate, the wine is dynamic with incredible precision and finesse, managing vibrancy alongside terrific structure. The tannins are fine and ripe, supporting deep flavors of currant, blueberries, black plum, fresh herbs and spice that broaden through a long, rich finish. Classy and age-worthy, this will continue to grow in the cellar over the next 15+ years.
We know great wines are made in the vineyard. Vintage after vintage we work with our growers and vineyard managers on the best practices to yield the highest quality grapes we can for that given season. We share common goals, a work ethic, and meticulous attention to detail that increases our chances of success substantially. Whether it's pruning, thinning, changing the canopy, or varying the vine nutrition, we work side by side to get the best results.
Harvest decisions are made by the ripeness of fruit, sensory analysis, and the weather. From year to year decisions are driven by both flavor and physical maturity. We are looking for the moment where the flavors and balance of the grape hit true phenolic ripeness. Our team did over 6,000 miles to and from the vineyards in Steve’s truck during harvest as we sampled 2-3 times per week to ensure our picking decisions were spot on. From bud break to the barrel and finally, to bottle our goal is to stay true to our ideologies. Exacting winemaking, cellar, and lab practices drive our goals of making the best wine we can.
The art and science of winemaking is a continuous learning adventure. The true balance of winemaking is achieved when science and art collide creating a bottle of wine well worth drinking. That’s what excites us as a team. All of our flagship wines are made from only the best barrels that we painstaking select over several months. Once this is done, we begin the blending process, all double-blind, until months later we select each wine that we believe reflects the character and quality of the site and vintage.
Review:
"Simply stunning, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Heart of the Hill exudes focus and precision on the nose, with rich and chewy dark fruits and a clear line of oak through the center boosting the roundness and complexity. Dusty red and purple flower tones flutter out of the glass. Full-bodied, the palate shows a still tight and chewy core but should last a couple of decades. This wine lives at the intersection of complexity, finesse and precision. It has a long finish, where the flavor of the wine remains expressive and vivid for moments beyond—with flavors of blackberry, cassis, cinnamon and nutmeg. "
98 Points - Robert Parkers's Wine Advocate