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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
A lovely estate on the west side of Pomerol, Château La Grave dates back to the early 19th century. As indicated by its name, the soil is almost pure pebble. The vineyard marks the beginning of the one mile long gravelly strip which crosses the plateau of Pomerol, then Cheval Blanc and ends at Château Figeac. La Grave could be considered the equivalent of a third growth in the Médoc and ranks amongst the top Pomerol. His very first personal acquisition, Christian Moueix purchased the estate in June 1971 and gave a great deal of attention to the restoration of the château, cellar, and vineyard. Today, as part of the Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix properties, it receives the same meticulous care as the other family’s top châteaux.
The illustrious and famed Bordeaux negociant firm of Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix was founded in 1937 and holds exclusive rights to sell and manage some of the greatest vineyards on the right bank of Bordeaux. The properties of Jean-Pierre Moueix can be found in the appellations of Pomerol and St. Emilion with each estate being carefully selected by Christian Moueix. The Moueix family have defined a style of winemaking distinguished by integrity and total devotion to the expression of each individual vineyard.
VARIETAL COMPOSITION
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
WINEMAKING
A strict and merciless parcel selection precedes the harvest which is conducted entirely by hand, vine by vine, and often bunch by bunch. A sorting table is used systematically to assure a selection of only the healthiest grapes. Vatting and maceration are conducted according the needs of the vintage; racking into barrels is immediate following fermentations in a minimum of 50% new oak. The wines are clarified (racked) by hand every three months and remain in barrel for 18 months before bottling.
TASTING NOTES
Red garnet color with a dark hue. The nose is discrete at the beginning and becomes intense with a nice purity after it opens up. Small red fruits, fresh cherry and currant aromas are very pleasant. The palate is already very smooth and silky with round tannins perfect for a great evolution in the bottle.
Vuosikerta 2000
BORDEAUX 2000 – A DREAM VINTAGE
Weather conditions / Vintage 2000 has from the very start been proclaimed as one of the best vintages of modern times. In spring 2003, I've had many opportunities to find out, if we really have a true dream vintage in our hands.
During harvest 2000, while doing "personal inspection" in the vineyards, I noticed that something extraordinary big was on its way. Grapes looked extremely healthy.
While sorting table was rolling, I observed, that there were few leaves, stalks and weeds among the grapes. That's why sorting out grapes went so easy and quick. It must be one of hallmarks of 2000 vintage, because normally even the great vintages require a lot of work at sorting table.
2000 vintage is classic, extravagant and extremely long-lived Bordeaux with dark, extremely dense wines, which have enormous concentration of fruit, length and superbly concentrated tannin. The tannin is not allowed to dominate, because it's well wrapped up by fruit. A scent of sub-maturity is only present in few wines. One of this vintage's trademarks is an intense and deep aroma of dark berries, like blueberries, blackberries and black cherries.
All red grape varieties reached perfect maturity, including Bordeaux' most capricious and unruly grape variety, Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot gives the much meeded contribution of backbone and power to the wines.
Also the grapes for whites, like Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle, did ripe perfectly and produced tremendously fine dry white wines. Sweet white wines turned unfortunately to be a few light, elegant and charming wines, which were based 100% on September pickings. Beginning on the 11th October, it rained heavily in Bordeaux and it continued until the end of the year.
