2015 Clos de l'Oratoire, St Emilion, Bordeaux

2015 Clos de l'Oratoire, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Product: 20158124823
 
2015 Clos de l'Oratoire, St Emilion, Bordeaux

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Clos de l'Oratoire

Clos de l'Oratoire

Clos de l'Oratoire was acquired by Comte de Neipperg in 1991 and he has resurrected this property, turning it into one of the finest in St-Emilion.

At Clos de l'Oratoire many traditional vineyard practices are used to keep production down, thus concentrating flavour in the wine. Grass is left to grow between the vine rows and pruning is quite severe. The vines are thinned out to keep yields down and to create the ideal natural equilibrium. Fertilizer is mostly organic, and used sparingly. The grapes are hand picked and any poor-quality ones are immediately sorted out and eliminated in the vineyard. The vintage takes place as late as possible to obtain maximum ripeness.

Clos de l'Oratoire is barrel-aged for an average of 13 to 22 months (between 50 and 70% new barrels). The Merlot-dominated wines have deep colour and are redolent of dark, ripe berry fruits, with fine texture and structure. Best with at least five to six years' age.

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St Émilion

St Émilion

St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank. 

St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel. 

Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol.  Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.  

In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices.  The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.

St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012

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Merlot

Merlot

The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.

In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.

Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.

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