Chateau Croizet-Bages

Chateau Croizet-Bages, as its name implies, is located on the Bages plateau. Located between Pauillac and St-Julien, the estate is named after the family who owned the land in the 16^th century. There are numerous chateaux on that plateau, including Lynch-Bages, Haut-Bages-Liberal, Cordeillan-Bages and Haut-Bages-Averous.

It was only until the 18^th century that the property came into ownership of the Croziet brothers, who were local officials. They sold the property later, around the time of the Revolution, to a Gascon named Jean de Puyterac, who maintained ownership until shortly before the 1855 classification.

At that time it came into the hands of Julien Calve, who also renamed the estate Croizet-Calve. It was classified a fifth growth in the 1855 classification, and by WWI it was sold to Jean-Baptiste Monnot, an American citizen, who continued running the estate until 1942.

It was then acquired by Paul Quie, who was a wine merchant. By 1968 he passed to his son Jean-Michel, turning over yet again in 2001 by the next generation of Jean-Philippe and Anne-Francoise.

The vineyards are located in the heart of the Bages plateau, with typical Medoc gravel soil, but only of a metre deep over a bed of sand. The total size is about 30 ha, planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc, with average vine age of 35 years. The planting density is 8000 vines per ha, with a yield of 55 hl / ha.

The quality of the wine improved in recent years due to the increased attention in the vineyards, with re-trellised vines, to increase height of the vine and foliage surface. Winter pruning and spring debudding has also been carried out, with leaf-thinning and green harvesting to control yield.

One of the exceptions in Medoc, machine harvesting is adopted in the property. There is no chateau on the property, with the harvest going into cement vats with 10% bled off to increase extraction. Cold maceration of up to 48 hours is adopted, followed by temperature controlled fermentation.

After malolactic fermentation, the press wine and various other lots are kept separate, going into oak barrels of which 25% are new, for up to 12 months. The wine is regularly racked, fined with egg white and then bottled. The grand vin is Chateau Croizet-Bages, with a second wine La Tourelle de Croziet-Bages.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of medium ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and black cherry, maturity notes of tobacco and bits of savory, pungent spice of liquorice, MLF notes of cream, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of pencil lead, and kernel notes of coffee. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, it has medium acidity and medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture. The alcohol level is medium, with a medium (+) body, showing medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as black cherry and dark plum, animal notes of raw meat, herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of chocolate. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality Pauillac with a fairly intense nose of good complexity, though the wine needs to air for about 2 hours before enjoying and got a weird aromas initially. The palate is a bit too herbaceous, and probably due to the issue of the ripeness, with a reasonable concentration and complexity. Overall a wine of balance and structure, it has a fair length and is ready to drink now, though can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

Clos des Jacobins

Clos des Jacobins was a property of the Dominican monastery in the medieval times, and in 2004 it was purchased by Bernard Decoster. Along with his son Thibaut, Bernard did considerable work on the estate, renovating the chateau at the same time as installing new wooden vats with temperature-control in the cellar.

Located at the entrance to St-Emilion, the vineyards are a single plot around the estate, at the foot of a hill, with mainly limestone with clay. Total 8.5 ha, it has 75% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon.

I have recently tasted the 2005 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as bilberry, black cherry and blackberry, oak notes of cedar, herbal of star anise, kernel notes of coffee, sweet spice of cloves, MLF notes of cream, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, it has medium acidity and medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture. The alcohol level is medium (+), with a medium (+) body, showing medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and black cherries, kernel notes of coffee, oak notes of cedar, sweet spice of cinnamon, red fruit of plum. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality St-Emilion with good intensity on the nose, showing complex aromas with plenty of fruit, and given more time for development the complexity would even be more outstanding. The palate is in balance with good concentration and reasonable complexity, plus a fair length on the finish. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing for another 5-8 years.

Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste

Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste was part of a single estate, along with Grand-Puy Ducasse, located in Pauillac. Sitting on the grand puy, referring to the gravel hill or mound with soils perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon, the estate was belonged to Monsieur de Guiraud about five centuries ago.

One of Guiraud’s daughters married a gentleman named Dejean, and the estate was passed down the line. Dejean owned Lynch-Bages as well, and during his tenure the estate was divided into the two grand-puy as of today, after selling some of the vineyards to Pierre Ducasse in 1750.

The remaining was inherited by one of his daughters Bertrand, with the estate passing down the female line through two generations. Her grand-daughter was married to Monsieur de St-Guiron, and the estate was then known as St-Guiron. Their daughter later married to Francois Lacoste, and it was through this union that the estate’s modern name was originated.

Listed in the 1855 classification as a fifth growth, it shared the same ranking with Grand-Puy-Ducasse. Francois Lacoste also built the chateau, and subsequently passed to his son Frederic. Frederic then passed onto his daughter Madame de St-Legier, but then a series of ownership changes saw the estate changed hands to Neal and Heriveau, and later to Raymond Dupin in 1932.

The estate fell into decline with the issue of phylloxera, oidium, war and depression in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, with the vineyards reducing from 55 ha to less than half in the 1960s, to the low point of 25 ha. The turnaround happened in 1978 when Dupin sold half of the estate to Jean-Eugene Borie of Ducru-Beaucaillou.

The Borie family gradually took over the responsibility, and now Francois-Xavier, son of Jean-Eugene, runs the estate. Under Francois-Xavier there was much investment and innovation, and the quality improved the years.

Now it covers 55 ha, with a single block of vineyard, planting predominately with Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), with the remaining Merlot. The planting density is 10000 vines per ha, with average age of 38 years. The soil is rich in pale, gravelly pebbles.

Manually harvested, there is a sorting done before the grapes are destemmed, followed by another sorting before going to stainless steel fermentation vats. The must will be macerate for three weeks before putting into 70% new oak for up to 20 months. The grand vin is Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste, with about 18000 cases per annum, and a second wine Lacoste-Borie is also produced.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, animal notes of farmyard, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, it has medium (+) acidity and medium (+) tannin of ripe and rounded texture. The alcohol level is medium, with a medium (+) body, showing medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and dark cherries, oak notes of cedar, MLF notes of cream, herbal notes of black tea. The wine has medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality Pauillac though not particularly impressive, the wine shows reasonable concentration and complexity on the nose, and the tannin and acidity all providing a nice structure for the wine. The palate is having fair concentration and complexity, with some herbal notes, which shows it is coming from a vintage with some ripeness issues. The finish is reasonable, and it is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Chateau Pavie

Pavie is derived from the word pavies, which refers to the deeply colored peaches that once grew on the site. The estate once belonged to four separate owners, with the Talleman family having the most significant portion and producing the greatest quantity of wine. It was followed by the Pigasse family who also owned Larcis, and two other gentlemen called Lafleur and Chapuis.

The Pigasse portion contracted as the years passed, and with the death of Adolphe Pigasse in 1868, his widow sold off a number of the plots. On the other hand, during the same period, the Fayard-Talleman family had expanded the properties and came to own the majority of the estate.

But the current estate really came about when Ferdinand Bouffard arrived, acquiring not just the Fayard-Talleman vineyard but also the small area still under Pigasse as well as other plots from local families. These were managed separately, with the Pigasse portion becoming the today Pavie-Decesse, and the portion from Chapuis becoming today’s Pavie-Macquin.

Ferdinand invested wisely to eradicate unsuitable varieties, refurbish the cellar and fight against phylloxera. He later sold the estate to Albert Porte in 1918, and was subsequently sold again to Alexandre Valette, who also owned Troplong-Mondot, in 1943.

With his death, the vineyard at Troplong-Mondat was passed to his grandson Claude, and then the next generation Christine, with Alexandre’s other grandson Jean-Paul taking over Pavie. There are certain critics who rated the wines of the Valette era very highly, whereas others like Robert Parker who did not think so.

The modern history of Pavie is associated with Gerard Perse, a supermarket magnate, who acquired Monbousquet in 1993, Pavie-Decesse in 1997, and then in 1998 Pavie itself. Perse began the construction of a new cellar, with new wooden fermentation vats having temperature control, to replace the concrete vats. A radical restoration of the chateau also was carried out, with extensive uprooting of vines and replanting.

The vineyards now cover 37 ha, located to the southeast of St-Emilion, with limestone at the top, clay and limestone on the slope, and alluvial gravel sandy soils at the bottom. The vines average over 40 years, with 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Future plantings will focus on the Cabernets instead of Merlot.

In 2001 Pavie absorbed vines from the neighboring La Clusiere (2.5 ha) as well as 9 ha from Pavie-Decesse, in the process also declassifying 6 ha on the lower slopes to bolster quality. The vines are trained high to improve exposure of the fruit, with leaf thinning and green harvesting.

Manually harvested, the yield is low at 30 hl/ha, with sorting before transporting to the top of vat-room by conveyor. The vines are fermented plot by plot in temperature-controlled oak vats with a short maceration, before malolactic fermentation for up to 24 months in nearly 100% new oak.

The wines will undergo batonnage, the stirring of lees to enrich the wines, and this was not commonly practice in Bordeaux. The grand vin Chateau Pavie is normally bottled without fining or filtration, with about 8000 cases per year.

 

I have recently tasted the 2002 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry, blackcurrant and cherries, sweet spice of cloves, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of dark coffee, maturity notes of truffle and wet leaves, mineral notes of earth. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, it has medium acidity and medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture. The alcohol level is medium (+), with a medium (+) body, showing medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry, blackcurrant and black cherry, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of tobacco, sweet spice of cloves, kernel notes of chocolate. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality St-Emilion with good intensity on the nose, showing a wide range of complex aromas, the wine is robust with good structure, yet still having the finesse and elegance, with a palate showing smooth tannin. The flavors are similarly interesting with also good concentration, with the main critics being the alcohol level is a bit too warming. Finishing with a good length, the wine is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chateau Calon-Segur

Calon was once part of the great Segur estate, which in the 18^th century also included Lafite, Latour and Mouton. It has more than five hundred years of history, originating in the fiefdom of the Lords of Lesparre.

There were many changes in the ownership, until in the early 18^th century when the celebrated Prince des Vignes, Nicolas-Alexandrie de Segur, acquired the estate, following his marriage to a Gasq heiress. He made a famous quote ‘I make my wine at Lafite and Latour but my heart is in Calon, which is a reason why the heart motif appeared all around the estate and even on the label.

The estate was passed to his nephew Alexandre de Segur-Calon, but was later sold to Etienne Theodore Dumoulin in 1778, who bequeathed to his son Etienne Theodore. Etienne was interested in a plot of land adjacent to the Gironde, and cleared the heather and scrub to reveal suitable gravelly soils for vineyard, which later developed into Montrose.

Beginning to plant in 1815, the results were good and by 1820 the vineyards were expanded and a chateau built. Etienne later sold the original vineyards of the family to Firmin de Lestapis, becoming Calon-Segur we know today, while keeping the new one, becoming the later Chateau Montrose.

The Lestapis family did a good job and got the estate classified as a third growth in the 1855 classification. However, the estate later fell into decline and then was sold to the Gasqueton family. The new owners were Georges Gasqueton and Charles Hanappier, but it was the Gasqueton family who was largely responsible for revitalizing the property.

After Georges’ death in 1962, the estate was passed to Edouard and his wife Elaine, propelling the estate to a high ranking not only among St-Estephe but other properties in Medoc. Edouard passed to his son Philippe who also acquired Chateau du Tertre in Margaux, and upon his death in 1995, his widow Denise Capbern-Gasqueton took over, selling du Tertre to Eric and Louise Albada Jelgersma of Giscours.

Madame Gasqueton introduced a stricter control on the parcels in the vineyards, increasing density from 6500 to 8000 vines per ha. In 1999 new stainless steel tanks were installed in the building as well. By 2006 Vincent Millet, the new technical director, arrived from Chateau Margaux, and gradually increased the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and new oak barrels, which continued to propel the wines to a higher quality level.

Upon her death the estate was assed to her daughter Helene, but because of diverse interest in the family, the estate had to be sold despite Helene wanting to maintain, alas unable to buy out others. The new buyer is Suravenir Assurances, an insurance company, which appointed Laurent Dufau to be in charge, at a sum unprecedented.

The estate lies to the northwest of the village of St-Estephe, with the vineyards on the south of the chateau, southeast towards the village and east and northeast towards the Gironde. The soil is brown clay mixed with gravel, with some areas sandy over limestone.

Planted with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, with a small percentage of Cabernet Franc, the wines spend typically 18 months in wood, about one-third of them are new. The grand vin is Chateau Calon-Segur, averaging 20000 cases per annum, and a second wine Marquis de Calon of about 3300 cases, which is more Merlot based.

I have recently tasted the 2003 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it is of deep intensity ruby color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas showing ripe black fruit of blackcurrant, brambles and blackberry, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar and smoke, kernel notes of cocoa, mineral notes of pencil lead and earth, herbal notes of black tea, maturity notes of truffle. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture. With medium alcohol and medium (+) body, it exhibits medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and black cherry, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, herbal notes of black tea. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality St-Estephe, it has good complexity and lots of concentration on the nose, plenty of potential to further age, good vibrancy and youthfulness. Just starting to develop some maturity characters, it has good balance on fruit and oak, only if the maturity aromas can be more apparent then it will be very complex. Elegant and intense on palate too, it finishes with a fairly long length. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.