2010 Château Cissac, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

2010 Château Cissac, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

Product: 20101008124
 
2010 Château Cissac, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

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Description

This wine has always been popular in the English marketplace, but less so in the United States. The 2010 is a classic Bordeaux with hints of cedar wood, red and black fruits, new saddle leather and an attractive, spicy, earthy, character. The acids seem much sweeter than I remember from some of the vintages from 20 years ago, but the wine is round, generously endowed, well-made and medium-bodied. It should drink nicely for at least a decade.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 28/02/2013

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Wine Advocate87/100
This wine has always been popular in the English marketplace, but less so in the United States. The 2010 is a classic Bordeaux with hints of cedar wood, red and black fruits, new saddle leather and an attractive, spicy, earthy, character. The acids seem much sweeter than I remember from some of the vintages from 20 years ago, but the wine is round, generously endowed, well-made and medium-bodied. It should drink nicely for at least a decade.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 28/02/2013 Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Cissac

Chateau Cissac

Chateau Cissac is a historic  Haut-Médoc wine property which dates from 1769. Located in the northern-most Haut-Médoc appellation, the property and appellation share a similar climate to that enjoyed by the Médoc: maritime, with the Gironde estuary and the Bay of Biscay combining to act as a climate regulator and the coastal pine forests sheltering the vines from the westerly and north-westerly winds. The soil, less diverse than in the Médoc, is predominantly sandy, with gravel.

Château Cissac belongs to the Vialard family, and its reputation was largely based on the tireless work of Louis Vialard, who arrived here in 1940 and established the wine’s fame through the 1970s and 1980s.

He died in 2009 but his daughter Danielle had long taken over the wine-making and is now assisted by her own daughter, Marie. The vineyard is planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, and the average age of the vines is 30 years.

The juice is fermented in huge wooden vats but is then aged in 225-litre oak barrels, 40% of which are new. With the vineyard established on a bed of gravel over a limestone base, it is unsurprising to see such a predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon and the style of the wine mirrors this, as it is made in a classic Medoc style.

Cissac is classified as a cru bourgeois.

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Haut-Medoc

Haut-Medoc

Despite being as visually unprepossessing as the rest of the Médoc (despite its grandiose châteaux) this large red-wine appellation of Haut-Médoc is home to some of the world’s greatest wines. Its 4,500 hectares of vineyards form a largely continuous strip that follows the Gironde from St Seurin-de-Cadourne, just north of St Estèphe, to Blanquefort in the northern suburbs of Bordeaux.

All the great communes of the Left Bank fall within its boundaries: Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe, as well as the up and coming Moulis and Listrac. These are labelled under their own, more illustrious and expensive appellation names. Châteaux labelled simply as Haut-Médoc rarely reach such heights, but nevertheless offer consistently good quality and offer some of the best value in Bordeaux.

Haut-Médoc wines tend to be firm and fine with generous fruit and a nice minerality – what many would consider ‘classic Claret’. They come from loftier vineyards and offer higher quality and more complexity than those labelled simply as ‘Médoc’. Almost all wines are a blend of the principal varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc – which helps producers hedge their bets if the slightly capricious climate causes one variety to fail. Small amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec and even Carmenère are also used.

The higher proportion of sand and gravel to the south tends to produce finer wines, while the heavier clay and gravel north of Margaux yields sturdier examples. The best Haut-Médocs are found north of Ludon, a village just below Margaux. These include five classified Growths: Third Growth Ch. La Lagune, underperforming Fourth Growth Ch. la Tour Carnet and Fifth Growths Ch. Cantemerle, Ch. Camensac and Ch. Belgrave – as well as a number of fine Cru Bourgeois. Ageing ability varies but the lesser wines are usually delicious after three to four years, lasting around a decade, while the Cru Classés have a drinkability window of around six to 15 years.

Recommended Châteaux (labelled as Haut-Médoc): Ch. Beaumont, Ch. Belgrave, Ch. Cantemerle, Ch. Peyrabon

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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.

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