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Wine Description
The Story
Despite his training and success as a cooper, Henri Martin's heart was not in barrelmaking. So, starting in 1939, he left to become a winegrower. His lifelong ambition was to create a new estate, Château Gloria - a monumental undertaking! Plot by plot, vine row after vine row, he patiently and systematically purchased vineyard land from his friends and neighbours in the commune of Saint-Julien to form Château Gloria.
This included many vines from classified growth estates. Indeed, this was quite a feat considering that Saint-Julien has only 900 hectares of vines, consisting almost entirely of land belonging to the appellation's eleven great growths. Henri Martin's new estate was created in the 1970s, attaining an area of 50 hectares. Château Gloria is therefore the story of one man's passion for vines and wine. Although the history of famous châteaux of Bordeaux generally goes back hundreds of years, Gloria is an exception. Its existence is due to the determination of one man in the late 20th century, and it has already established a sterling reputation.
Once the grapes have been picked by hand, the harvest is vinified in the traditional way in heat-regulated stainless steel vats, in order to produce truly exceptional wines which can be laid down for a long time. The wine then spends 14 months being aged in casks, with an average of 40% of them being replaced every year.
Vintage 2010
Drought and cool temperatures contribute to optimal ripeness
The sum of summer temperatures in 2010 was close to that of summer 2009 (962°C compared to 982°C), but significantly colder than those of 2005, which totaled 1052°C. These cool temperatures had a substantial influence on the balance of our wines, preserving a good level of acidity and an attractive aromatic freshness.
Very little precipitation (only 267 mm) from March to August 2010 generating a drought of similar intensity to that of 2005, when only 227 mm of rain fell.
Another characteristic of the 2010 vintage is the low temperatures especially during the first three weeks of August, which allowed good acidity levels to be preserved in the grapes while maintaining an attractive aromatic freshness.
