Graves
The vintage
2022 was a vintage marked by a series of climatic excesses that occurred with varying degrees of intensity from April onwards (frost, hail, drought and heatwaves). It will be remembered as one of the earliest of the last 20 years. A mild, dry winter led to early bud-break. Flowering was rapid and uniform thanks to perfect weather conditions, hot and dry, and very low disease pressure. The water reserves of 2021 enabled the vines to withstand the summer drought. Two thunderstorms in August helped all the grape varieties to finish their ripening in style. In the Graves, this excessively climatic vintage produced some great red wines, surprisingly well-balanced and harmonious. Yields, however, remained 10% lower than the ten-year average.
Location
The Graves appellation is the closest to the city Bordeaux, stretching South East from the city on a long strip of land on the left bank of the Garonne river.
Terroir
The terroir of Graves is made of gravel, clay and fossil-rich limestone so typical of the Bordeaux region. It is the only one to have given its name to the appellation itself ! Its situation is ideal, protected from the bad weather by the Landes forrest to the South, whilst the proximity to the Garonne prevents it from drought.
The round pebbles that gave their names top the appellation help retain the heat for a long and steady maturation of the grapes.
Winemaking
Vinification was carried out according to traditional Bordeaux methods, with destemming and crushing of the grapes before fermentation in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel vats. Fermentation took place at 28°C, and was followed by two weeks of maceration with regular pumping over to ensure a gentle, gradual extraction of the tannins. After malolactic fermentation, 20% of the wine was transferred to French oak barrels to be aged for 12 months.
Grapes
Tasting
The colour is a deep purple with black highlights.
The nose is rich and charming, dominated by jammy fruits such as blackcurrant and blackberry, combined with notes of zan and graphite.
The experience continues on the voluminous palate, with delicate, dense, velvety tannins and intense fruit aromas, crowned by a pleasant freshness on the finish.
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