About this WINE
Ch. Cardinal Villemaurine
Cardinal Villemaurine is one of several Chateaux in the Bordeaux wine region belonging to Jean-Francois Carrille. He favours traditional wine-making techniques but harnesses modern technology to maintain temperature control of his fermenting vats.
The most unusual feature of the maturation process is that the wines are aged in 400-litre barrels after fermentation in tank, whereas most Bordelais would use 225-litre barriques. The wine remains in cask for 16-24 months ,depending on the intensity of the vintage, before bottling.
The property lies on the side of St Emilion dominated by a chalky-clay subsoil, and stylistically the wine reflects this terroir rather than the gravelly soils which lie beneath Cheval Blanc and Figeac, running into the Pomerol commune.
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
A fruit driven, full bodied early drinking St Emilion with broad layers of indulgent rich cherries and mocha and a note of spice on the finish.
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