Critics reviews
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 28/02/2013
About this WINE
Chateau Chauvin
Château Chauvin, a St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé, is located in the northwestern part of the St. Emilion appellation. Chauvin has been in the hands of the Ondet family since 1981 and is now owned and managed by Béatrice Ondet and her sister, Marie-France Février. Béatrice is a passionate advocate of women winemakers, claiming that, "wine made by women tastes different, it's more subtle, elegant and complex than wine made by men, which tends to be stronger and more aggressive."
Chauvin is a single vineyard plot with 15 hectares planted with 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are hand-harvested and then matured in temperature-controlled- stainless steel vats. The wine is then matured in oak barriques (50% new) for 15 months.
Cult oenologist Michel Rolland is a consultant at Chauvin and under his supervision the grapes are now harvested later and a strict selection policy is adhered to when the grapes arrive in the cuverie. The quality of the wine is now at an all-time high.
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
Chauvin produces a stylish wine, always exhibiting plenty of black cherry fruit intermixed with garrigue notes as well as hints of spice box and Christmas fruitcake in a medium to full-bodied, elegant yet savory and expansively textured style. The 2010 has a precociousness that gives it an up-front, sexy appeal, but then clamps down on the palate as the tannins begin to accumulate in the wines finish. Forget it for 3-4 years and drink it over the following 25.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 28/02/2013
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