2016 Vintage
The harvest
From the frist rainy days of mid-September, the grapes are gleaming, the ripening is accelerating, and the sun bathed berries are healthy and sound, allowing us to perfom our harvest to a slow and precise rhythm with no stress ! (14 days in 5 weeks). Extraction is easy, color and tannin develop with little effort. The grape seeds taste of hazelnut, and the berries are perfectly ripened !
Informations
Varietals
49% Merlot
40% Cabernet Sauvignon
11% Cabernet Franc
Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels
Harvest proportion
51% BriO of Cantenac Brown
Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 23rd – 29th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 3rd – 4th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 10th – 19th
Year 2016
After a rather dry and warm winter, the beginning of the growing season is rainy through June, giving way to a dry and hotsummer.Bud-break took place in mid-March, and this slow, yet stabel growth allowed us to forecast a late harvest.
Thankfully, June revealed itself as perfect for a complete and rapid flowering on the Merlots, a little slower on the Caber- nets, but with beautiful ripening overall on all varietals. June through September proved a beautiful weather, almost too hot, but never reaching heatwaves. Also, even if some of the younger vines may have suffered, the older, more establi- shed ones continue to ripen, thanks to high watere tables.
Balance is there, this slight «block» at the end of August reduced alcohol content. However, rain in mid-September along with beautiful sunny days and cool nights, allowed us to maintain great freshness with exceptionnal polyphenolic richness.
