Château des Antonins, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2018

Bordeaux France

Tasting notes

A deep ruby-red in colour, this wine has an inviting bouquet of red plum, blackcurrant with hints of spice. The palate is supple with smooth tannins and layers of bright red fruit.

Vinyards

The Château is located on the left bank of the Garonne. The vineyards are managed sustainably. 20 hectares of red varieties are planted on clay gravel soils which produces wines with powerful and pure fruit concentration. The vineyards are split between 65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Vinification

The grapes underwent fermentation in stainless-steel tanks at controlled temperatures between 27 and 30°C. The wine underwent an extended maceration on skins of three to four weeks with regular pump-overs to ensure a gentle extraction. The final blend was kept in stainless steel prior to bottling.

Producer

Located southeast of Bordeaux, Château des Antonins is a family-run estate steeped in history. The estate, built in the 13th century, owes its name to the ‘Antonins’ monks who lived there for 500 years. A large part still survives today, including a toll bridge, chapel, monastery and various windmills. Phylloxera destroyed the vineyards in the late 19th century but the de Roquefeuil family, who have owned the estate since the 1850s, have gradually replanted vines, which today cover 25 hectares. Geoffroy and Martine de Roquefeuil took over in 1985, and have moved to sustainable farming. Their son Antoine spent time working in New Zealand before returning to the family estate as head winemaker in 2016.