•
1 1

Wine Tasting Adventure

2020 Château des Antonins, Bordeaux Supérieur - Liberty

£12.49 GBP
£12.49 GBP

Located southeast of Bordeaux, Château des Antonins is a family-run estate steeped in history. Built in the 13th century, the estate owes its name to the ‘Antonins’ monks who lived there for 500 years. Many of these original buildings still survive today, including a toll bridge, chapel, monastery and windmills. Phylloxera destroyed the vineyards in the late 19th century. Yet, the de Roquefeuil family, who have owned Château des Antonins since the 1850s, gradually replanted and today the estate encompasses 38 hectares of vines.

In 1985, Geoffroy and Martine de Roquefeuil took over and transitioned to sustainable farming practices. Their son Antoine joined as head winemaker in 2016, after a period spent honing his craft in New Zealand. The estate's vineyards are located on the left bank of the Garonne River, five kilometres from Graves. Just seven hectares are planted with white grapes, split between 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon. These vines lie on predominantly sandy-loam soils, lending elegance and lifted acidity to the white wines. The remaining 31 hectares are planted with 65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc on clay-gravel soils, resulting in approachable red wines with excellent fruit concentration.

Château des Antonins’ Bordeaux Supérieur is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, fermented in stainless steel for three to four weeks, with regular racking and pump-overs to extract colour and flavour. Unoaked, this is a rich, supple wine, packed with layers of pure red fruit and notes of spice and black cherry.

The Bordeaux Blanc is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon. To add complexity, the grapes undergo a 12-hour skin maceration to extract aromatics before being fermented in stainless steel with regular bâtonnage. The blend remains in stainless steel to preserve its lifted acidity and fresh grapefruit and white peach aromatics, before bottling the following spring.

Château des Antonins is located on the left bank of the Garonne, south of Graves. The red varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc are planted on clay gravel soils, producing wines with powerful and pure fruit concentration. All of the vineyards are managed sustainably and with the use of cover crops to avoid erosion and aerate the soils.

The 2020 vintage was remarkably early. For the first time ever, harvest began in August due to an early start to the growing season as a whole. There were wide temperature variations between day to night through the summer months which ensured good phenolic ripeness and excellent development of aromas. Glorious sunshine near the end of the harvest helped the berries to fully ripen as each plot slowly reached optimum ripeness. The wines from this vintage are fruity with a delightful freshness and balance.

The grapes were de-stemmed upon reception at the winery. The must then underwent thermo-regulated vinification with alcoholic fermentation controlled at temperatures between 27-30°C, followed by malolactic fermentation. The process included remontages (pumping over) and délestage techniques, with fermentation lasting 3 to 4 weeks. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks to preserve its freshness and varietal characteristics.

Deep ruby in colour, the wine develops a beautiful complexity on the nose revealing aromas of black cherry and blackcurrant with a toasted background and accents of blond tobacco. Supple on the attack, full of charm, the mouth is carried by fine tannins which bring a nice harmony.