Wednesday 24 July 2013

TN : Château Peyreau 2009, Vignobles Graf von Neipperg, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France


The Peyreau estate, bordering on Clos de l'Oratoire, was purchased by the Neipperg family in 1971. It has benefited from the winemaking philosophy and experience of Count Stephan von Neipperg since the early 1990s, when he took over the management of these two estates. The 12.82 hectare vineyard is located on Saint-Emilion's north-east slope. It has clay-limestone soil with Fronsac molasse at the top of the slope and clay-siliceous soil lower down.The grape varieties are 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.The average age of the vines is 25 years. The winemaking philosophy is the same as at the other Neipperg vineyards. The only difference is the vats; concrete rather than wood or stainless steel. Château Peyreau has had a fully-renovated installation since the 2004 vintage with new concrete vats and a redesigned barrel-ageing cellar.

Built by the Beylot family in 1860, the château is set in vast grounds featuring a wide variety of trees. In one unusual episode in the building's history, it was used as a girls' boarding school during the Second World War. 95% of total production of the château is exported.

All of the grapes were harvested by hand, into small crates to avoid bruising They were then sorted before and after destemming There was no crushing and all of the grapes arrived on a conveyor belt. The wine was fermented in temperature-controlled concrete vats; extraction was via pneumatic pigeage (punching down the cap). Malolactic fermentation and barrrel ageing was performed in barrels used for either one and two previous vintages.


Colour : Dark plummy red

Aroma : Plums, blackcurrant, oak

Taste : Graphite, fruity, blackcurrant, plums, cedar, grainy tannins on drying finish

Mark : C+

Price : 169 SEK (The Wine Company)

The Wine Company Article Number : 777569

Website : Vignobles Graf von Neipperg
Website : The Wine Company

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