2012 Château Rahoul, Graves, Bordeaux

2012 Château Rahoul, Graves, Bordeaux

Product: 20128123448
 
2012 Château Rahoul, Graves, Bordeaux

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

Ripe quite meaty with tobacco elements, nice depth and good potential.

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Decanter16/20
Ripe quite meaty with tobacco elements, nice depth and good potential. Read more

About this WINE

Ch. Rahoul

Ch. Rahoul

Ch. Rahoul, in the wine appellation of Graves, is a truly historic property - one of the finest in the region and how it is still as affordable as it is, is a mystery to us. The pretty chartreuse was built in 1646 by the Chevalier Guillaume Rahoul and his coat of arms still adorns the label to this day. It became a prominent winery in the late 19th Century and Rahoul was featured in the 2nd edition of the Feret wine guide in 1868 as one of the best wines in the commune of Portets.

The current owner is Alain Thienot (of Champagne Thienot) who bought the property in 1986. No expense is spared in either the vineyard or the winery – quite simply they are aiming to produce the best wines possible here. Planted on sandy-gravel soils, with a majority of 75% Merlot, the style of the red is always voluptuous and rounded.

In a great vintage such as 2005, Rahoul produces wines of extraordinary opulence and richness. The palate has that reassuring touch of Graves minerality which reminds you that are still in Bordeaux and that their wines are very complex indeed.

Find out more
Graves

Graves

Graves is the region which first established Bordeaux's wine reputation. Its wines were exported to England as early as the 12th century and Samuel Pepys drank Ho Bryan (sic) in London on 10th April, 1663.

The names Graves is derived from ‘gravel’ and the best soils are gravel-rich, mixed with sand and occasionally clay. Graves is larger in areas than the Médoc but produces only half the amount of wine. The best wines of Graves were initially classified in 1953 with this classification being confirmed in 1959.

Until 1987, this entire region, which runs immediately south of the city of Bordeaux until it reaches Sauternes, was known as the Graves and its entirety is still sometimes informally referred to as such, but from the 1986 vintage a new communal district was created within Graves, based on the districts of Pessac and Léognan, the first of which lies within the suburbs of the city.

Pessac-Léognan has the best soils of the region, very similar to those of the Médoc, although the depth of gravel is more variable, and contains all the Classed Growths of the region. Some of its great names, including Ch. Haut-Brion, even sit serenely and resolutely in Bordeaux's southern urban sprawl.

The climate is milder than to the north of the city, and the harvest can occur up to two weeks earlier. This gives the best wines a heady, rich and almost savoury character, laced with notes of tobacco, spice and leather. Further south, the soil is sandier with more clay, and the wines are lighter, fruity and suitable for earlier drinking.

Recommended Châteaux

Ch. Haut-Brion, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, Ch. Pape Clément, Ch. Haut-Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier, Ch. Larrivet Haut-Brion, Ch. Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Ch. La Garde, Villa Bel-Air.

Find out more
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

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.

Find out more