Chateau La Graviere Rouge

GRAPES VARIETIES : 70 % Merlot
15 % Cabernet Sauvignon
15 % Cabernet Franc
AVERAGE AGE OF VINEYARD : 25 years old
AVERAGE DENSITY : 4500 vines per hectar
SOIL : Gravely and clay
VINEYARD : Vinegrowing to respect the environment.
Natural weed in the vineyard
HARVEST : Mechanical harvest with sorting of the grapes in the vineyard and
in the winery.
VINIFICATION : Destemming-Crushing, fermentation during 20 days,
Daily pumping over, ageing in concrete tanks for 15 months.

Region Description

A region in western France that grows famous red wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes and white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle grapes. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux has a maritime climate with warm summers and fairly mild winters as well as an abundance of rain during harvest time. When young, the finest red Bordeaux wines have a deep cranberry hue and aromas of blackcurrants, plums, spice, cedar, and cassis. For the first ten years or so these wines can be very dry, with tannin masking the fruity flavors. Eventually the wines turn garnet, and develops an extraordinarily complex bouquet and flavor as well as softer tannins. The finest red Bordeaux wines still take 20 years or so before reaching their maturity. Two distinct red wine production zones exist within the Bordeaux region; the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The Left Bank vineyards are located west of the Garonne River and the Gironde Estuary, into which the Garonne empties. The Right Bank vineyards are east and north of the Dordogne River and east of the Grionde Estuary. Of the various wine districts on the Left and Right Banks, four are the most important for red wines: Haut-Médoc; Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion, and Pomerol. For white wines, the most important are Graves and Pessac-Leognan.