November 28th, 2010
French Bordeaux fine wine – Château Lilian Ladouys

Fine Wines - Vin Vino Direct

Fine Wines - Vin Vino Direct

What is known of the history of Lilian Ladouys begins in 1654, when the property was in the ownership of Jacques de Bercoyan, a Bordeaux magistrate. By this time the estate was already known as La Doys, an obvious precursor to the Ladouys of today, although the origins of this name remain unclear to me. From Bercoyan the estate passed to the Barre family who acquired it during the 18th Century, and who maintained their dominion over these vineyards for 150 years. Under their tutelage the estate produced wines of high quality judging by the opinions of the time, which ranked Lilian Ladouys considerably higher than most would place it today. By the early 20th Century however, during the difficult years between the two wars, the estate had deteriorated, and it was sold off in a piecemeal fashion. Today, however, under the directorship of Pierre Fougere who heads up the Société Chateau Lilian Ladouys, there has been investment and reported improvements. And for some years now the wines have been made under the auspices of Georges Pauli, so there should perhaps be some optimism that they may once more be as glorious as the estate’s 18th Century reputation suggests they can.

LillianladouysThe estate covers 48 hectares spread in a disparate fashion across the St Estèphe appellation, with more than ninety plots of vines in existence. About two-thirds of the vineyard is situated on well drained soils rich in coarse gravel, with pebbles up to 8 cm across dominating. The remaining vineyards are, as we might expect for St Estèphe, clay over a limestone bedrock. The varieties planted are 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and the vines have an average age of up close to 40 years. Once harvested the fruit is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, before transfer into oak barrels, of which one-third are new with each vintage; the wine will remain here for 18 months before fining, filtration and bottling. The grand vin is Chateau Lilian Ladouys, of which there are perhaps 20000 cases per annum.

We are proud to offer the 1995 vintage for sale at only £23.80 ….click here to go to the wine and buy online.

Tasting notes – Saturated red with violet reflections, this is an intensely scented wine with wild aromatic mulberries, setting you off on a joyous journey through the layers of generous oak, onto the expressive, rich and lingering red fruit palate.

We also have 1997 vintage available – click here for more.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy Piedra Luna wine from Argentina online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

November 23rd, 2010
Magic from Bordeaux – Château La Conseillante, Pomerol

The ChâteauLa Conseillante
ConseillanteThe Conseillante vineyard lies on the very boundary between Pomerol and St Emilion, and one of its nearest neighbours is the St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé estate Cheval-Blanc, just across the road to the east. Indeed, although the nearest vineyards include Vieux Chateau Certan, Pétrus and L’Evangile, all Pomerol thoroughbreds, a number of the Conseillante vines actually lie within the St Emilion commune. Underfoot, the soils are a mix of the types associated with the two communes; some clay, some sand, some gravel too. There are 12 hectares of vines all told, 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, planted in a single block, the characteristics of which have not changed since the acquisition of the estate by the Nicolas family in 1871.

The wine label of Les Héritiers Nicolas shows a shield with a silver border enclosing the letter “N”. The violet cap represents the characteristic flavour of the wine. These items, chosen by the Nicolas brothers in 1871, remain elegantly relevant at the beginning of the 21st Century.

La Conseillante bottleThe vines, planted at a standard density of 6000 vines/ha, see controlled yields, as evidenced by a figure of 38 hl/ha for the 2005 vintage, achieved through a rolling process of pruning and bud-thinning, with leaf-thinning to improve quality of ripening. The harvest is manual, with the fruit sorted by an arrangement of four sorting tables, and destemmed prior to a cold maceration and fermentation which is carried out according to plot of origin. The malolactic tends to begin in vat, prior to running off and then gentle pressing, before being finished off in barrels, between 80% and 100% new each vintage, where the wine will rest for up to eighteen months, with a racking every third month. There is an egg white fining prior to bottling, but filtration is avoided. Selection and blending occurs when the wine is still in barrel, with the best lots destined for the grand vin, Chateau La Conseillante, with lesser aliquots going into a second wine, newly created with the 2007 vintage, named Duo de Conseillante, which will see only 12 months ageing in wood, using older barrels. Total production at the estate amounts to about 5000 cases, with the second wine accounting for up to 20% of this figure.

Tasting:
An awesome effort. The bouquet of plums, exotic spices and vanilin is followed by a wine that has brilliant definition and remarkable freshness and depth of fruit, as well as grace and elegance. Fabulously long, pure, sweet and expansive, with an explosive finish….you can buy this fantastic wine online at only £115.00 / bottle – click here

November 17th, 2010
French medal winning Domaine de Ménard white wine

Fine Wine Online

Fine Wine Online

ClosduMenardThis Swiss family property in the Côtes de Gascogne region has been a 10 ha vineyard since 1960 and now consists of 110 ha of vines situated in a marine site, baptised the Saint Jacques “Pelerines of Compostelle”. This Domaine de Ménard wine, first produced in 2002  seems to adapt marvellously to the Colombard and Sauvignon grapes, with a perfect balance of each variety expressessing it’s personality. The Colombard shows a powerful bouquet of exotic fruit, vivacity and freshness added by the presence of the Sauvignon.  As well as being a fantastic tasting wine it also holds a Gold Medal from “Au Concours des Vignerons Independants”.

You can order this wine online and it’s very reasonably priced at £7.75  click here

 Tasting Notes: A blend of Colombard and Sauvignon with an immediate aromatic and grapey freshness. An off-dry wine with hints of spice and pear mingle with peachiness on the finish…..and it’s a Gold Medal Winner!

The Area: Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white wine. It is mainly located in the ‘Departement Gers’ in the French region Midi-Pyrénées, and it belongs to the wine region South West France. The designation Côtes the Gascogne is used for a Vin de Pays (“country wine”) produced in the Armagnac area. The decree of the 13th of September 1968 created the difference between a Vin de Pays and simpler table wine, the so-called Vin de table. The designation Côtes de Gascogne obliges the producers to respect the stricter rules and production standards, which were adopted with the decree of the 25th of January 1982.

The Colombard Grape: Colombard is an early fruiting white variety of wine grape, better known as French Colombard in North America. It is possibly the offspring of Gouais blanc and Chenin blanc. In France it was traditionally grown in the Charentes and Gascony for distilling into Cognac and Armagnac respectively. Today it is still among the permitted white grape varieties in Bordeaux wine, and in Gascony for Vins de Pays Côtes de Gascogne and the white Floc de Gascogne.