Chateau Bonalgue started out life under the name of Clos Bonalgue. That name changed in 1969 to Chateau Bonalgue. The estate has a long history in the Pomerol appellation. The original chateau was constructed in 1815. Chateau Bonalgue was purchased by the Bourotte family in 1926. Today, the Bourotte lso own Chateau Clos du Clocher in Pomerol, as well as other Bordeaux estates and a successful negociant company.
The 7.55 hectare vineyard of Chateau Bonalgue is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The vines are located just northeast of Libourne The Right Bank vineyard has a terroir of sand, gravel and clay with bits of iron in the soil. Previously, the vineyard had a portion of it devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, but those vines were removed and replaced by Merlot plantings in subsequent years. This took place at some point during the 1980’s. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 vines per hectare. The vines are on average, 25 years of age.
To produce the wine of Chateau Bonalgue, vinification takes place in 13, temperature controlled, stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of vats and French oak barrels The estate has plans to update their cellars and increase the number of vats to allow for more parcel by parcel vinification. The wine is aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 18 months. Close to 2,500 cases are produced of Chateau Bonalgue each year. There is a second wine, Beausejour de Bonalgue.
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Primeurs Vintage 2022 Part 2
”7m 12d ago
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This years "en primeur" tasting seemed like a journey in time. Bordeaux is back to a more moderate alcohol level and the style is lighter and more elegant. One could say the wines are reminiscent of the 80s, however made with more experience and the modern techniques today. It is not a powerful vintage. The wines are elegant, however the well made ones have an excellent persistence, depth and length. They offer a convincing potential for a long ageing and promote elegance in Bordeaux again. It is a true vintage of terroir although there is a lot of talk about a vintners vintage. However, terroir was the decisive factor in 2021.
Professor Axel Marchal has presented the 10 key points of this vintage on the occasion of the Union des Grands Crus press tasting:
"1. The start of the growing season was marked by severe frost on the 7th and 8th of April.
2. Wet and gloomy weather in May slowed down the vine growth although a providential window of fine weather helped flowering unfold in ideal conditions in early June.
3. Thunderstorms in June slowed down the onset of water stress.
4: Cool, dull weather in July increased the threat of vine diseases.
5. Véraison (colour change) was observed in mid-August, while vine growth had not stopped yet.
6. Thanks to a cool summer, the dry white wines are brilliant, lively and aromatic.
7. The wonderful Indian Summer allowed the red grape varieties to ripen in ideal conditions and preserved aromas.
8. The Merlots are fresh and aromatic while the Cabernets from the finest terroirs are well-structured with good balance.
9. The development of Botrytis cinerea in Sauternes was delayed by the cool summer and eventually triggered by rainfall in mid-September.
10. Despite low yields, the botrytised sweet white wines are of excellent quality."
It will be exciting to see the evolution of this vintage which produced in many cases yields on a very low scale. Arguably it will be a vintage praised for it finesse in the future. A vintage rated on finesse and persistence rather than on sheer power and opulence.
”1y 7m ago
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The 2019 vintage was tasted under pandemic conditions in spring 2020. At that time, the samples were sent to Essen and tasted within 48 hours after arrival. Now the vintage has been bottled and it is possible to double check the impressions just a year and half later. Overall the quality was excellent, proving the excellent style of the vintage. Some wines were performing better than during the primeur tastings, however most of the wines confirmed the quality already on show in spring 2020. As there are still samples coming in, there will be more tastings over the coming days and I will publish a second set of wines shortly before Christmas and in January some "late arrivals".
”2y 1d ago
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2020 – the paradox vintage
2020 began with mild temperatures even breaking temperature record highs at the beginning of February. These conditions led to a premature budbreak. Budding developed unevenly, very much depending on the locations although the coo and humid weather in April had not a very significant impact on slowing down the growth of the vines. Finally all the vines came into bloom at the end of May without any significant coulure or millerandage. At the start of June, frequent rain intensified the pressure of mildew. From mid-June, the weather changed. The whole Bordelais saw a period of very dry weather for two months. However, the earlier accumulation of water reserves prevented water stress. Around July 18 a heat wave began to build up but the cool nighty prevented water stress on the wines again. The veraison started at the end of July and went on till the beginning of August. The heatwave in August accentuated water stress, but shorter rainy episodes avoided a complete block. The dry and sunny weather in September encouraged the grapes maturity and harvest started on September 10 with a rather mild weather. Towards the middle of September, rain prevented the fruits from wilting but as its frequency was quite concerning, the haves was pushed forward. "Le diabolique" is the title given to this vintage by Véronique Sanders. It is a very special French word, which is not correctly translated with “diabolic” in English. In France, the expression means to overcome the devil. And the vintners succeeded. 2020 is clearly a vintner’s vintage which asked a permanent reinvention of the wineries, struggling hard with this difficult vintage. However, the vintage surprises with excellent wines, exemplary freshness and elegance and very dense structure. In former times it was said that the vine has to suffer to make exquisite wines, in this vintage the people have suffered to make a great wine. The first part of notes for this tasting with over 800 wines you will find today. More notes will follow over the coming days.
”2y 6m ago
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A heterogeneous vintage, 2017 will remain in the memory of a lot of vintners with very mixed feelings. An early bud break put hopes very high for a good vintage. These hopes were destroyed by a frost period of historical dimensions. On April 20 an 21 as well as on April 27 and 28 the frost destroyed 30 to 50% of the harvest in the Gironde area, though the best terroirs and famous appellations have been less affected. An early and regular flowering set new hopes. Summer was very dry and the harvest was quite early, even accelerated by rain at the beginning of September. This was rather a problem for the Merlot grapes than for Cabernets. The Cabernet-Sauvignon took advantage of a dry Indian Summer. Overall the vintage produced remarkable dry white wines above the qualities of 2015 and 2016.
”5y 6m ago
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Bordeaux 2016 vintage!
”6y 7m ago
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BORDEAUX VINTAGE 2016 / Tasting "en primeur" is a challenge every year. The wines tasted are showing a tendency only and it is still the beginning of a longer process of evolution and maturation in the barrels. There might be some changes during the next year and a half until the wines will be bottled, but already today the tendency is quite clear. For most of the red wines it will be an outstanding vintage, a vintage for Cabernet, old vines, limestone and clay soil. It was a challenging year for the vintners. An incredibly wet spring was worrying the winegrowers and at the beginning of June, the spirits were down. However warm and dry weather between June 3 and June 11 creating an close to ideal situation for the flowering and good weather conditions starting in mid June changed the nature of the vintage. The fine weather continued into July and August. The month of August was featuring hot weather and a remarkable amount of sunshine but the absence of rain let to water stress. Heavy rain in mid September set an end to water stress and when the sun returned on September 20 the vintage was saved as there was excellent weather till to the end of the harvest. The effects were various. the white wines are on a good quality level and display fruit and flavour but the acidity is lower than in previous vintages and the white wines show an opulent and rather soft style. The noble sweet wines are extremely pure and are more on the rich and powerful side than on the freshness. For the red wines originating from the right terroirs and old vines, the vintage an be called outstanding. Water stress was managed well on limestone and clay terroirs, Cabernet varieties did extremely well and old vines found water even during the stressful dry periods of summer. In some few red wines the tannins are slightly harsh, almost bitter, a result of water stress and/or intense extraction. In general the red wines are on an excellent level with an advantage for the left bank, mainly the Médoc area, and the classic great terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol.
”6y 7m ago
“2015 will be one of the excellent vintages however hardly to compare to 2009 and 2010 or 2005. In 2015 the region played a major role, terroir was the key to success. For red wines, the limestone plateau in Saint-Emilion performed extremely well as there was water available during the hot summer days and drainage proved to be ideal during rainy August. Therefore the best wines of Saint-Emilion come from limestone soils. The sandy parts of the appellation produced a quite heterogeneous result. In Pomerol it looked the same with very successful wines from the central plateau and more heterogeneous qualities from the areas around. In Fronsac it was not only the terroir which proved important, the vintners decision had a major impact. Pessac-Léognan did extremely well in this vintage with a homogenous quality. The Médoc was divided. The southern part, mainly Margaux and the southern part of Saint-Julien have seen less rain and produced more powerful wines. The northern part of the Médoc, especially Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe have produced a very fine and elegant style with excellent persistence. On the good terroirs, the seeds were ripe which results in very ripe tannins with a silky or velvety expression. In addition the cooler conditions of autumn provoked a very pure and fresh fruit. For the dry white wines the quality depends very much on the origin again. Due to the hot and dry growing season, a lot of white wines show very mild, almost soft acidity but also some phenolic hints in the aftertaste. A few dry white wines are standing out, having preserved freshness and acidity. The sweet wines are remarkably good, very rich in character and the best of them have a crisp acidity balancing the opulent sugar. The tasting conditions were rather good, however the weather was quite mixed affecting the presentation of the wines. The wines were tasted blind where possible and open. The final decision on the rating is based on both tasting types.”
7y 8m ago
“Today’s Bordeaux 2013 tasting was very interesting. Margaux and Saint-Julien are performing much better than in the primeur tasting.”
7y 10m ago
“Bordeaux Primeurs 2015 / Vintage 2014 wines from 88-94 points”
8y 8m ago
“Château Ausone 2013 /Dark purple red with violet hue and almost black centre. Well structured nose with vibrant fruit, blackcurrants and mulberries, hints of mild spices, vanilla and gingerbread, toasted flavours reminiscent of dark chocolate. On the palate well structured with medium weight and persistant length. Fine fruit in the finish, elegant tannins. 92 points”
8y 8m ago
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