For many wine lovers or consumers, wine tasting is the preserve of professionals or real connoisseurs. People still have this image of it being a complex, technical, precise and highly-formalised process. In fact, wine tasting isn’t and shouldn’t be just that. No, it should be straightforward, convivial, interesting and fun. Tasting a wine should provoke curiosity, excitement, pleasure and dreams…
When you taste a Château du Retout wine, you use all five of your senses: the sense of touch when you pick up the bottle to gauge its temperature, the sense of hearing which allows you to enjoy the sound of he popping of the cork and the wine being poured into the glass, and then, of course, you use your senses of sight, smell and taste when you drink the wine:
The Médoc grape varieties and soils give us wines with superb, dense, dark hues, ranging from deep garnet to ruby-crimson, taking on brick red shades with orange tints with age.
Very intense and expressive aromas with powerful notes of black fruit such as blackcurrants and blackberries. In older wines, the nose develops a spicy bouquet of liquorice, leather and marshmallow mingled with the vanilla scents created by well-integrated oak.
Harmonious, elegant and velvety, with smooth, round tannins, that can be appreciated from the wine's entry to the palate through to the finish. These are delightfully full-bodied wines with great aromatic persistence.
Review:
"Shows the ripeness of the vintage, with dark currant and blackberry framed by singed cedar and vanilla. Ends with a tug of warm earth, a light twang of iron and a steady grip. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2034."
- Wine Spectator (TOP 100 wines of 2024), 92 pts and #45 on Top100
Jean Reverdy Sancerre Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Single vineyard. Vinification: cold fermentation in stainless steel tank, no oak, no malolactic fermentation.
Sweet, fruity and clean. White flowers (acacia, jasmine) and citrus fruits aromas. Perfectly balanced.
A delicious wine, perfect with fish dishes, especially salmon, and a local goat cheese Crottin de Chavignol.
Reverdy Jean Sancerre Rouge is mader from 100% Pinot Noir
The wine is spicy and juicy with cherry aromas, and proves the point that power is not necessary for a fine wine.
Jean Reverdy Sancerre Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Single vineyard. Vinification: cold fermentation in stainless steel tank, no oak, no malolactic fermentation.
Sweet, fruity and clean. White flowers (acacia, jasmine) and citrus fruits aromas. Perfectly balanced.
A delicious wine, perfect with fish dishes, especially salmon, and a local goat cheese Crottin de Chavignol.
Reverdy Jean Sancerre Rouge Les Villots is made from 100% Pinot Noir
The wine is spicy and juicy with cherry aromas, and proves the point that power is not necessary for a fine wine.
Ricudda Chianti Classico Riserva 100% Sangiovese.
Deep ruby red color.
The wine shows an intense and persistent bouquet, with notes of berries and spices such as licorice and black pepper. Well-harmonized hints of oak.
In the mouth, it is well structured and balanced, complex, persistent with notes of red fruits and spices such as black pepper and licorice.
Pair with grilled red meats, steak, game of hair and feather, stewed and roasted, aged cheeses hard like pecorino.
Orin Swift 8 Years In The Desert Napa Valley is a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah.
The Eight Years in the Desert pours a dark mauve core with a red amethyst rim and aromatic notes of ripe blackberry and raspberry bramble. Further hints of chocolate covered espresso bean, black pepper and allspice emanate from the glass. The entry is dominated by black plum preserves and freshly baked mixed berry morning bun with an energetic yet concentrated mid-palate. Soft and textured tannins give way to a lifted finish with a touch of pluot and dried tarragon.
BLEND
Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah
MATURATION
7 months in French Oak, 35% New
ALC/VOL
15.6%
Bernardins Muscat Beaumes Venise VDN 100% Muscat petits grains (75% Blanc, 25% Red)
Copper/rose hue and ripe soft aromas of orange, spice and flowers. The wine is full bodied with the texture of silk and flavors of orange custard, white peach, pear, apricot, toffee and orange peel.
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.
The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.
We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).
As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.
In the spirit of respecting traditional techniques and the best elements of modern technology, cellar manager Andrew Hall and his winemaker son Romain Hall take family traditions very seriously.
When making our wines, the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise plays a central role and requires great care. After picking the grapes by hand, we press them straightaway to ferment the juice without skins. We don’t add any yeasts and keep the alcoholic fermentation in check by temperature control. Vin Doux Naturel winemaking involves stopping fermentation to preserve the grapes’ natural sweetness. During vinification, we watch the vats day and night and add the fortifying spirit just at the right moment. At this stage, the wine’s final balance is at stake. The wine is then aged in stainless steel tanks for 6 months before bottling.