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Wine Description
The Story
Situated on the coast, Château de l’Hospitalet looks down on the Mediterranean from a height of a hundred metres. Having a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with mild winters, the vineyard enjoys exceptional climatic conditions: the quantity of sunshine and the heat stored during the day by the limestone and released to the grapes at night, and the effect of the Mediterranean which reduces temperature differences and the altitude which counteracts the summer heat.
Two types of soil contribute to the generosity, aromatic complexity and livelinessand freshness of this cuvée: the Gargasian marl-limestone at the foot of the cliff isrich in fossils and provides water to the vine stocks all through summer in spite of the absence of summer rain; and the red Mediterranean soil from the Barremian period, formed on compact grey-blue limestone and reclaimed from the garrigue, enables the production of rich and concentrated wines. The grapes are cultivated using sustainable methods that respect the Terra Vitis procedure, guaranteeing the traceability of growing practices which are verified by an independent body.
Origin: AOP Clape, Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon
Blend: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre
Tasting notes: Château l’Hospitalet La Réserve red has a deep ruby-red colour. Soft and balanced in the mouth, this cuvée has the generous fruitiness of jam, black cherries and red currants accompanied with notes of liquorice, gingerbread and grilled notes. Complex and aromatic, this wine offers fine tannins. Elegant and tasty, it is ready to drink now or at any time in the next ten years.
Vinification: This vineyard was designed to achieve a high level of quality. All the wine-growing decisions are geared toward this, from the choice of stocks at planting to the North-South orientation of the rows (to benefit more effectively from the light), and the choice of training method with short pruning (Royat cordon) on trellises.
Yields are moderate, about 35 hl/ha, and we obtain ripe, healthy and concentrated grapes that easily yield up their colour and aromas in the fermentation and maceration phase as they ripen slowly.
The grapes are harvested manually when they have reached optimal ripeness and taken to the cellar in wooden tubs. Some of the Syrah is vinified using carbonic maceration. The Grenache and the Mourvèdre are destemmed and placed in stainless steel vats with a regulated temperature for traditional maceration over a period of 20 to 25 days. The different grape varieties are vinified separately.
At the end of the winter, the wines are racked, blended and placed in 225 litre barrels in the barrel cellar of Château l’Hospitalet for a period of 12 months.