Bordeaux Right Bank

Question 1

Château Angélus

Answer 1

Saint Emilion
The vineyard forms an amphitheater beneath three churches, whose angelus bells give the estate its name.
Angélus was elevated to
premier grand cru classé
B status in 1996 and finally A status in 2012.
50% Merlot, 47% CF, 3% CS.
Second wine: Le Carillon de l’Angélus.
Style: Angélus is notable for its high percentage of Cabernet Franc, planted in more gravelly sectors of the vineyard. The wine proceeds to malolactic fermentation in 100% new barrels, where it ages for several months on its fine lees, before racking and bottling after 18 to 24 months.

Question 2

Chateau Ausone

Answer 2

Saint Emilion
the estate is widely considered to have entered a period of decline by the mid-1900s, despite earning
premier grand cru classé
A classification in 1955.
55% CF, 45% Merlot.
Second wine: Chapelle d’Ausone.
Style: Ausone is the smallest of any Bordeaux
premier cru
but is heralded for its seven hectares deeply rooted in limestone. Cabernet Franc thrives in these soils and is used at a high percentage. The grapes experience a cold maceration prior to fermentation in large oak vats. The wine is then transferred to 100% new barrels for malolactic fermentation and up to two years of aging before bottling. The wine is celebrated for its combination of purity and power.

Question 3

Château Beauséjour

Answer 3

Saint Emilion
Premier Grand Cru Classé B.
Beauséjour’s wines have been considered variable in recent decades. Nicolas Thienpont, Winemaking Director at Pavie Macquin, was hired in 2009 to help reestablish the estate, while Michel Rolland and Stéphane Derenoncourt consult.
7 ha: 81% Merlot, 16% CF.
Second wine: Croix de Beauséjour.
Style: Beauséjour’s vineyard is situated on the western edge of Saint-Émilion’s limestone plateau. Thienpont has focused on reducing yields and instated optical sorting and whole berry fermentations in open-top vats. The wine ages for 18 months in 75% new French oak barrels, where it also undergoes malolactic fermentation.

Question 4

Chateau Canon

Answer 4

Premier Grand Cru Classé B
34ha: 70% Merlot, 30% CF.
Second wine: Croix Canon.
Style: Of Château Canon’s 34 hectares, 24 are classified as
premier grand cru classé
B and are used to cultivate the
grand vin
. A separate parcel surrounding the Mazerat chapel and young vines from throughout the property are used for the second wine, Croix Canon. Canon is often described as a powerful, ripe expression of Saint-Émilion. The wine ferments in two dozen stainless steel vats, separated by parcel. Malolactic fermentation occurs in both tank and barrel, 50% new, before 18 months of
élevage.

Question 5

Château Certan de May

Answer 5

Pomerol
5.5 ha: 70% Merlot, 25% CF.
Certan de May is a generous expression of Pomerol. Fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, while malolactic fermentation proceeds in barrel. The wine sits in French barriques, up to 80% new, for 16 to 20 months before bottling.

Question 6

Chateau Cheval Blanc

Answer 6

39ha: 49% CF, 47% Merlot, 4% CS.
Second wine: Le Petit Cheval.
Style: Cheval Blanc is situated near the Pomerol border and, like Figeac, is rooted primarily in gravel rather than limestone, the soil of most other top Saint-Émilion estates. These gravel soils, along with a slightly warmer microclimate, lend themselves to a particular quality of Cabernet Franc that, notably, composes about two-thirds of the grand vin.
For Château Cheval Blanc, each parcel is vinified separately in concrete vats of varying sizes, where the wine also undergoes malolactic fermentation. Subsequently, the wine is moved to new barrels for 18 months of aging.

Question 7

Chateau Clinet

Answer 7

Pomerol
11 ha: 90% Merlot, 9% CS, 1% CF.
Second wine: Fleur de Clinet.
Style: Clinet offers a powerful Pomerol with proven aging capacity but noted inaccessibility in its youth. The vineyard, situated near the top of the Pomerol plateau, is worked by horses and harvested by hand. The wine ferments and macerates over the course of a month in stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation is carried out both in tank and in barriques, approximately 60% new, followed by 18 to 22 months of aging in barrel. Fleur de Clinet comes from a combination of purchased and declassified fruit.

Question 8

Chateau Figeac

Answer 8

Premier Grand Cru Classé A.
40ha: 35% CF, 35% CS, 40% Merlot.
Second wine: Petit Figeac.
Style: Three gravelly ridges traverse the Figeac vineyard, with little clay subsoil, a departure from the limestone beds of most of Saint-Émilion’s top properties. The unique geology of Figeac encouraged Manoncourt to increase plantings of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, whose dominance in the blend, unique in Saint-Émilion. The wine ferments by parcel in a combination of stainless steel and conical, open-top wood vats. Malolactic fermentation proceeds in entirely new French oak barriques, followed by 14 to 18 months of aging.

Question 9

Château La Conseillante

Answer 9

• Pomerol
• Michel Rolland consults
• 12ha holdings: 80% merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc.
• Second wine: duo de Conseillante
• La Conseillante’s fruit is sorted by hand or by optical sorter, and the
  grand vin
  goes through a three- to five-day cold maceration before fermentation in epoxy-
  2/2
  lined concrete tanks. After 18 months of
  élevage
  in 55% to 80% new French oak barrels, it is fined with egg whites.

Question 10

Château La Gaffelière

Answer 10

Saint Emilion
- 23ha: 80% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc.
- Clos la Gaffeliere
Style: Gaffelière offers a sturdy Saint-Émilion that in top vintages requires cellaring. A new winery facility was completed in 2013, equipped with optical sorting and custom-made stainless steel tanks shaped like an inverted cone and tinted purple. The grapes, always destemmed, are vinified by plot, and malolactic fermentation is carried out in both tank and barrel. The wines are aged for 14 to 16 months in 50% new oak barrels.

Question 11

Chateau Lafleur

Answer 11

Pomerol Aoc
- Château Lafleur is regarded by many as the biggest challenger to Pétrus as the greatest wine of Pomerol.
- 4.5 ha: 50% Merlot, 50% Cab Franc.
- Second wine: Les Pensées de Lafleur.
- Located within the Pomerol plateau, Lafleur occupies a nearly square-shaped block of vines. The vineyard is sub-divided into four sectors. Château Lafleur is notable for its unusually high percentage of Cabernet Franc, constituting roughly half of the cuvée and defining much of Lafleur’s character. Sorting occurs both in the vineyard and at the winery, and a three-week maceration and fermentation takes place in small concrete vats. The wines are then moved to barrel, one-quarter too one-third new and the rest used. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barriques, and the wines age 15months prior to bottling.

Question 12

Château L’Eglise Clinet

Answer 12

• Pomerol
• 4.5 ha: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
• Second wine: Les Petite Eglise.
• Denis Durantou is well known for his “traditional” approach to winemaking in Pomerol. Sorting is performed in the vineyard, and harvest begins early in the season to preserve the acidity of the fruit. Temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks are the only modern influence on winemaking; contemporary techniques including cold soaks, micro-oxygenation, and malolactic fermentation in barrel are avoided. After a long fermentation, the wine is aged for 14 months in barriques, roughly 80% new. La Petite Eglise comes from the property’s youngest vines, as well as fruit purchased from neighboring vineyards.

Question 13

Chateau Pavie

Answer 13

• Saint Emilion.
• 37 ha: 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.
  Second wine: Aromes de Pavie.
  Style: Pavie is recognized for its opulent style of Saint-Émilion, adored by the likes of Robert Parker but criticized by many palates that favor restraint. Parker and Jancis Robinson famously sparred over the 2003 vintage, which Robinson likened to Port or a late-harvest Zinfandel. Pavie’s style is achieved through minuscule yields and late harvesting—it is one of the last to pick in the region. Perse also aims to achieve completely organic viticulture. Berries are sorted optically, after which they enjoy a cold maceration that can go on for more than a week before the onset of fermentation in oak vats.
  Saignée is often employed to further amplify concentration. The wine is transferred to barrel, 70 to100% new, for malolactic fermentation, after which it ages for 18 to 32 months before bottling.

Question 14

Chateau Trotanoy

Answer 14

• Pomerol
• 7ha: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc.
• Second wine: Esperance de Trotanoy.
  Style: Trotanoy offers a wine that is opulent and intensely powerful. The hand-harvested grapes are sorted manually or by optical machine. The wine is fermented in
  2/2
  stainless steel or temperature-controlled concrete tanks, before aging in half new French oak barrels for 16 to 18 months. A second wine, Espérance de Trotanoy, is only produced in select vintages.

Question 15

Chateau Valandraud

Answer 15

• Saint Emilion.
• Château Valandraud (or de Valandraud) was one of the pioneering wineries in the
  garagiste
  movement of the 1990s. The estate was established in 1989, when Jean-Luc Thunevin.
• 11 ha: 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
  Second wine: Virginie de Valandraud.
  Style: Valandraud is one of the rare Right Bank estates to cultivate all five classic red Bordeaux varieties, although they may not all appear in the top wine. Attention is paid in the vineyard to reduce yields, and fruit is sorted both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Fermentation takes place in a combination of oak, stainless steel, and concrete vats. Thunevin was also one of the first producers to carry out malolactic fermentation in barrel. The wine ages anywhere from 18 to 30 months in barriques, always 100% new.

Question 16

La Mondotte

Answer 16

• Saint Emilion
• 4.5 ha: 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc.
  Style: La Mondotte offers a ripe and opulent expression of Saint-Émilion that benefits from at least a decade of aging. The vines are grown on clay and silt soils, with limestone deposits. Berries are fermented whole, without crushing, in temperature-controlled wooden tanks.
  2/2
  After a slow, month-long fermentation, with frequent punchdowns, the wine is aged for 18 months on its fine lees in new barriques.

Question 17

Le Pin

Answer 17

• Pomerol
• Unlike most of Pomerol’s top estates, Le Pin was founded in the 20th century and without a grand château, the first estate of the
  garagiste
  movement. The winery’s name comes from a lone pine tree whose branches shaded a small house near the top of the Pomerol plateau.
• Le Pin, as it is known today, was founded by the Thienpont family, owners of Vieux Château Certan, who saw potential in this tiny unknown property and acquired it in 1979.
• 2.7ha: 88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc.
• Trilogie
• Le Pin comes from a small, iron-rich, gravelly-clay vineyard near the highest point of the Pomerol plateau, with excellent drainage. Le Pin was likely the first Bordeaux estate to perform malolactic fermentation in barriques, more an act of necessity than a deliberate decision when additional tank space was needed. The wine, almost entirely Merlot, ages in 100% new French oak barrels for 14 to 16 months and is bottled unfiltered. Le Pin is celebrated for its opulence but perceived by some as overripe in certain vintages.

Question 18

Petrus

Answer 18

• Pomerol
• Petrus shares its name with the hill upon which it is located, named for a Roman who owned the property in ancient times. While much of Pomerol is blanketed in gravelly-clay, Petrus is almost uniformly rooted in deep, dense blue clay soils.
• 11.5 ha: 97% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc.
  Style: Renowned for its ageability and power, Petrus is often described as rich and velvety in texture. Grapes are always destemmed and are sorted optically. Vinification proceeds in a dozen temperature-controlled concrete vats that range from 50 to 130 hectoliters in size. A short pre-fermentation maceration is followed with up to three weeks of post-fermentation maceration. Malolactic fermentation is performed in a different vat, and the lots destined for Petrus are blended and aged in barrel, half of which are new. The exact length of
  élevage
  varies by vintage, and the wines are fined and filtered before bottling.

Question 19

Vieux Château Certan

Answer 19

• Pomerol.
• Vieux Château Certan is planted in a single block, a rarity for a sizeable piece of property on the Right Bank. The vineyard sits atop the Pomerol plateau, primarily in gravelly-clay soils.
  14ha: 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
  Second Wine: La Gravette de Certan.
  Style: While many place Vieux Château Certan in the “traditionalist” camp, the estate employs many modern precision viticulture techniques. Infrared cameras are attached to tractors to monitor the wines, and a GPS system observes different sectors of the vineyard. Fruit from the oldest vines ferments in oak vats, while the rest is vinified in stainless steel. The Merlot undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrel, 50% new, and the Cabernet Franc does so in tank. The wines age for 18 to22 months before bottling.