Fine Wines - Vin Vino Direct
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…so here we have the 1994 Château Croizet Bages – 5′me Cru Classé from the Pauillac region. Some would argue this may be the finest Croizer-Bages made in over 20 years – well, why not taste for yourself! At only £25.50, this is an affordable introduction into our Fine Wine selections….
Tasting Notes : An attractive nose of cassis, fruit, herbs and vanilla. Good ripeness, a pure clean taste of fruit and oak with slight tannins and a pleasing finish.
The Croizet family acquired this property in the 18th century, planted his vineyard on the Bages ‘plateaux’ and called it appropriately Château Croizet-Bages. Today the 22 hectares of this classed growth vineyard is owned and managed by Lucienne and Jean-Michel Quié producing an annual average of 110,000 bottles with the quintessential flavour of a typical Pauillac wine with fresh soft fruit and oak flavours, vigour and dryness, cigar box aroma with a hint of sweetness making this wine the best loved in the world.
Croizet Bages
Area History and Terrior: Looking full onto the river from the earliest days, with an important port activity, traces of which go back to ancient times (shipment of bronze as long ago as 2000 B.C.), Pauillac’s life has always been intimately linked to the history of wine. Although port activities were at the root of its prosperity, Pauillac had to wait until the eighteenth century when Bordeaux ceased to hold its privileged position to become a wine port. The town then became the natural outlet for the wine production of neighbouring cantons before reaching its zenith in a period when the vineyards were exceptionally prosperous.
The characteristic of the Pauillac terroir is its exceptional relief: the many undulating ridges make it unique morphologically speaking. Highly favourable conditions facilitate the dissection of the layer of gravel. This thin, Garonne gravel from whose very poverty springs great richness, has an extremely effective natural drainage.
With their velvet red colour with a hint of amber, the wines from the Pauillac appellation, full-bodied and rich in tannin, are vigorous. Powerful when young, their aromas of red fruits (black-currant, raspberry) or flowers (violets, roses, irises) melt with the passing of time into a bouquet which is long in the mouth. Rich and complex, the wines of Pauillac deserve to be laid down for a little longer.
In order to have the right to the Pauillac appellation of controlled origin, red wines must: – come from the commune of Pauillac and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur, “excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils”, – satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes – 6.27 oz. – per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) and base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare).
southwest of Pauillac; they have a typical constitution of gravel over a layer of marl, chalk and sand, and are planted with predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon (73%), with 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is about 35 years and they are planted at a density of 9000 vines/ha. The fruit is harvested manually, then destemmed and crushed before fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel. The wine macerates in vat for a total of three weeks with malolactic in tank, before the wine is run off into oak for up to 15 months, with 60% new wood for every vintage.