Skip to main content

Tasting at Château Pertignas with Vincent Gauthier

It was not the most beautiful day in Bordeaux as we headed out into the vineyard with Vincent Gauthier at Château Pertignas. Unlike our visit the previous day where the vines were still loaded with Merlot grapes, here we were viewing a just picked vineyard following the harvest.

As we walked through the vineyard Gauthier discussed the difficulty he had with the 2017 vintage which was caused primarily by the heavy frost at the end of April. This weather hazard had significantly reduced his yields. After the high quality and high quantity 2016 vintage, he is estimating that his production for 2017 will be about one-fifth of the previous year.

He said he believes the quality of the surviving fruit to be quite good and ushered us to an outside tank for a taste of freshly fermenting Sauvignon Blanc which tasted of sweet citrus. We then headed inside for a tasting of the current releases.

The tasting:
Pertignas en Blanc Priolet Bordeaux Blanc 2016 - This drink-now white wine is made from Sauvignon Blanc. It is light, dry and aromatic with fresh citrus and a slightly bitter pithy note on the finish.

Pertignas en Blanc La Borie Bordeaux Blanc Semillon 2014 - A more serious white with some aging ability, it is made from 100% Semillon from old vines which is then aged in neutral barrels. Rich and dry with honeyed aromas, juicy acidity and a lingering tropical finish.

Rosé de Pertignas Bordeaux Rosé 2016 - This wine is made with 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. It is dry with fresh and fruity mixed berry aromas and mouth filling flavors.

Chateau Pertignas Bordeaux Supérieur Cuvée Vin de Copains 2015 - A blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Carmenere and 20% Petit Verdot, this dry red wine is easy drinking, fruity, soft and round with a spicy finish. Gauthier recommended it be served slightly chilled.

Chateau Pertignas Bordeaux Supérieur Cuvée Spéciale 2015 - This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot is dry with ripe berry aromas and flavors, grippy tannins and a spicy note in the finish.

Chateau Pertignas Bordeaux Supérieur Cuvée Fût de Chêne 2014 - This wine is 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon from old vines which is then aged in barrique. It is dry with velvety tannins, ripe aromas and rich flavors of plum and red berries with a bit of dried herbs and a mineral note in the lingering finish.

My favorites of the tasting were the La Borie Bordeaux Blanc Semillon and the Cuvée Fût de Chêne. I thought the Cuvée Vin de Copains served slightly chilled as suggested would be a delicious pairing with Texas barbecue. All six of these wines are recommended.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading Wine Life - Houston.

Popular posts from this blog

Lust Zinfandel 2007

     My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David  dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette.      This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so.      The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007  was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking
5 comments
Read more

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a
Post a Comment
Read more

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude.  Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff
5 comments
Read more