Vitibox

The Egregore is one of the exceptional wines of the Bernard Magrez, the French wine magnate. I suggest you the vintage 2010 for his generous matter and his very long keeping potential. This cuvée Egregore is considered as a step to perfection… 

 A lovely colour with garnet reflections

Mushrooms mille feuille
Grilled rib steak with thyme and rosemary

Saint Nectaire cheese
Coffee pastry;

The vineyard grows in the lieu-dit of Guerit, close to the village of Tauriac. The grape of the Egregore come from the slopes exposed to the plain sun of the Chateau Guerry. The soil is composed of clay and sand. The Château Guerry is the oldest wine of Bordeaux and it exists since three century.

Mercurey is not any appellation in Burgundy. Indeed, it is the biggest appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise sub-region and it is known for the intensity of red berries aromas the terroir gives to pinot noir there. This batch is particularly remarkable as it blends the aromas typical of Mercurey with refined woody notes that bring more complexity and smoky aromas. A great wine ! 

 A beautiful ruby dress..

Rillettes
Beef stew
Epoisses cheese
Blackcurrant ice cream

 The vineyards in Mercurey benefit from a special terroir as it lies on a hilly relief that alternates gentle and steep slopes. This kind of relief has a huge advantage: it allows winemakers to harvest grapes that were grown under different exposures to the sun and with different levels of water stress so as to elaborate wine with a lot of complexity. 

For this Vitibox dedicated to the wines of Bordeaux, I really felt like making you discover Château Haut-Meyreau. It is not located in one of Bordeaux top appellations, but the winemaker’s skills seem to be enough to build a reputation since the Château is out of stock six months a year. This wine is very elegant, with subtle aromas of flowers. 

 A light garnet red colour, with hints of blue and purple..

Veal carpaccio
Yassa chicken
Sheep’s cheese
Red berries pie

 The Château Haut-Meyreau is located in Dardenac, ten kilometres from Saint-Emilion. The vineyard covers 76 hectares. The subsoil is made of clay and limestone. It is an excellent terroir as the clay keeps a lot of rainwater to moisten the vines all year long. It strikes a balance with the strong sun of Bordeaux, ideal to grow great merlot and cabernet-sauvignon. 

“I wanted to let you taste this wine since I really like how the Magnaudeix family works. I herd that they have deservedly won the gold medal at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2013 (a prestigious world wine tasting championship). This wine can be sipped young thanks to its fruity and expressive aromas, but also in 10 years since it has a long keeping potential.”

 Colour is dark garnet with blue-violet reflections. Micro-bubbles in suspension. Tears are coloured and the glass disc is very thin.

Autumn sweet potato soup
Pepper sirloin steak

Maroilles cheese

Paris-Brest dessert

 Vines of Château Vieux Larmande grow on a dense layer of soil of hardpan basement covered by a calcareous-clay layer. The sublayer of hardpan is composed by clay, humus and iron and it’s a rare and very old soil. It gives stability to roots and prevents them from both dryness and high humidity and it contribute to the strength of vines. 

« I really liked the personality of the Château l’Escart’s wines, located on the way to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. You can notice it thanks to the numerous shells on the domain. The members of the Laurent’s family are biodynamic practitioners since 2005. The vintage 2010 of the cuvee Eden is one of the most “nature”. The mix of the aromas makes this wine unique and surprising. »

 Light garnet colour with violet-blue reflections.

Duck terrine
Iberian pig

Old Cantal cheese

Cherry liqueur

 Located on the Bordeaux’s doors, the Château L’Escart’s vineyard is spread on 37 hectares of clay-limestone soils fine gravel. The presence of limestone gives freshness and length to the wine, while the clay brings out strength and density.  

« Pessac-Léognan is one of my favourites denomina- tion. This little château is every bit as good as big wi- neries for the quality of its wine. Its vintage 2009 stands out for its nice balance, boldness and lightness. And it will improve even more with ageing. Will you reco- gnize the delicate aromas of redcurrant that I have iden- tified? »

 Light purple colour with violet reflections.

Rabbit terrine
Veal flank with carrots

Pont-l’évêque cheese

Chocolate cake

 The Mancèdre winery extends for 11 hectares on the east side of Pessac-Léognan. The vineyard flourishes on a soil made of gravels coming from the Pyrenees. Gravels give strength and lightness to wine. Grapevines also benefit from an excellent hydric regulation and natural poverty of soil, elements necessary to obtain ripened and concentred grapes. 

« The cuvee L’Etoile de Bergey has as much potential as its big brother, the Château Haut-Bergey. This Pessac Léognan wine has a nice purple robe, and combines a nice acidity, silky tannins and harmonious wood flavours. I advice you to drink this wine while eating rabbit stew. You can drink this wine now or wait five more years. »

 The robe has an intense garnet colour with violet-blue reflections and colored tears.

Farmhouse terrine
Rabbit stew

Brie Cheese

Black forest cake

 The terroir of the Château Haut-Bergey is spread on 25 hectares of vineyards cultivated on an argilo-siliceous subsoil, mix of sand and clay. We often say that the clay soils produce wines that are solid, strong and alcoholic while the siliceous soils produce fine wines, with subtle aromatic hints. The union of the clay and the silica sand guarantees a terroir of high quality. 

This month, I wanted to take advantage of the fabulous 2015 vintage in Bordeaux : I did that with the famous Château Lieujean, a safe bet of the Médoc vineyards, which is acclaimed by the greatest specialists. What differentiates this Cru Bourgeois is certainly its concentrated expression of black fruits accompanied by a subtle woody flavours. The tannins melt, the wine is supple, juicy and the finish is persistent and deep. 

 A beautiful ruby dress with thick tears..

Beef carpaccio with Parmesan
Sirloin steak
Mature cheddar

 Located in Saint-Sauveur near Pauillac, the Château is close to the Garonne and enjoys a temperate microclimate. The Haut-Médoc’s main characteristic is its very special soils made of hard stones that lower the yields of the vines, which gives birth to ripe grapes full of quality and with concentration. It is not far from there that Chateau Lafite, Mouton Rotshchild and Latour are located. 

« It’s been a couple of months I was looking for a nice wine from the Margaux AOC, one of the most well-known AOC in France. I really enjoyed this cuvee from the Château Haut-Breton Larigaudière. Margaux wines are famous for their delicacy and their feminine side, and you will probably notice this when tasting it. Moreover, it has a good price/quality ratio. »

 The robe has a garnet color with purple reflections.

Skewered offal
Lamb shoulder

Brie

Paris-Brest

 Trianon de Larigaudière is the second wine of the prestigious Château Haut-Breton Larigaudière, located on one of the most beautiful terroir of the Margaux AOC. The soil is sand-rich: sand has some drainage aptitudes that help producing light and aerial wines. 

Located next to the well-known village of Saint-Émilion, Castillon is the rising appellation in Bordeaux. It benefits from an outstanding terroir and is getting more and more popular thanks to its with attractive price / pleasure ratio. This is of course the case of the Puy Saint-Front 2016 wich shows how great can some Bordeaux wines be for good prices.  

 A beautiful purple dress with viscous tears..

Chanterelles stew
Beef fillet with black olives
Cantal

 The appellation "Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux" is located on the right bank on the slopes getting down from Saint-Émilion. Coming from the same limestone plateau as Saint-Emilion, the wines of the appellation benefit from a privileged geographical situation with a southern exposure and a difference in altitude of more than 100 meters.  

Surprise ! There are not only rosé wines in Provence… Indeed, if the region that lies just behind the Riviera is better known for its rosés, there are amazing terroirs for great red wines. Mas Cadenet displays a deep cherry colour and exhales a powerful nose that let guess a lot of complexity. The palate confirms it. The aromas of spices and blueberry are perfectly enhanced by fine tannins and a bit of freshness. Very nice ! 

 A beautifull cherry dress with thick tears..

Lamb chops
Tagine
Banon cheese
Candied fruits

 Located on a 250 meters high plateau, Mas Cadenet’s vines found the perfect soil with this ground covered with gravels, a very typical phenomenon in Provence. This dry soil gives extremely low yields, an unavoidable condition if you want to get concentrated and structured wines like Negrel. 

Graves is known as one of the best terroirs for white in Bordeaux. As soon as you dip your lips, you can feel all the minerality expected but also all the freshness brought by Sauvignon's citrus aromas. The texture is a bit silky : this wine is flattering on the palate. It will perfectly pair with shellfish ! 

 A beautiful golden dress with fluid tears..

Seafood platter
Salmon pie
Emmental
Apricot pie

 Château Gravas, is located just next to the prestigious village of Barsac, part of an exceptional terroir. Its cracked limestone soil allows a deep penetration of the roots, feeding the vine all the elements necessary for its good development. And a well-fed vineyard is a vine that gives good grapes ! 

This wine is a true lesson of seduction. Per Dona (« for the woman » in Catalan) displays a purple red robe, releases aromas reminiscent of strawberry and cocoa and its tannins are soft as silk. Château Dona Baissas managed to put all the charms of a wine in the same bottle ; I am a spellbound man ! 

 A beautiful purplish dress with thick tears..

Beef carpaccio with strawberries
Lamb tajine
Ossau-Iraty
Raspberry crumble

 At 200 meters above sea level, facing the Mediterranean Sea and facing south, the vineyard dominates Roussillon. The parcels are sloping and the soil is rich in brown schists. The schist, a flaky and fractured rock, allows the grapevines to infiltrate up to 7 - 8 meters into the ground to get the rainwater and minerals it needs to be fully developed. 

Turn the glass and have a look ; you can now watch thick tears slowly rolling down on the sides. What does it mean ? Probably that this wine has a thick texture. And indeed, on the palate, you’ll feel it along with strong flavours of blackberry and liquorice, typical of 2015 vintage in southern Rhône Valley. It’s doubtlessly a deep and powerful wine that should be paired with a slice of beef ! 

 A beautiful Garnet dress with viscous tears..

Charcuterie board
Flank steak
Langres cheese
Chocolate muffin

 Clos Bellane’s vines face the East. Sun rises on the East and set on the West. It means that for Clos Bellane’s vines, mornings are longer than afternoons. Therefore, grapes gets concentrated in sugar (that turns into alcohol) thanks to photosynthes is during the morning and ripens in the warm air of afternoon. This is the reason why this wine is quite concentrated in alcohol but at the same time still fresh and well balanced. 

Château l’Evêché is ruled by skilled people ! Indeed, we already chose for My VitiBox their Bordeaux Supérieur and their first Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. There is their second Grand Cru that impressed us. Tannins are fine, the aromatic structure is very elegant and we get magnificent scents of ripen black berries, typical from high class merlots. On the palate, you will also find fine tastes of liquorice and hints of chocolate. 

 A purplish red dress with viscous tears..

Gazpacho
Roasted lamb
Burrata cheese
Chocolate tart

 The vines used to elaborate La Chapelle-Lescours are planted on a soil made of fine clay and large heavy round pebbles called graves. This kind of soil perfectly regulates the water supply to make sure vine stocks get all the nutrients they need but are not flooded which could result in diluted wines. 

The white version of “ Vignes du Prieuré ” was one of the first one ever to be in a VitiBox a few years ago. That’s why I’m so happy to present you this month its red version in an amazing vintage ! The colour changes, but pleasure is still there. The first nose smells orignal : it’s not that common to find aromas of fresh herbs and strawberry together. However, it’s enchanting ! Silky, fruity and powerful, it feels like biting in a ripe fruit just picked up from the tree. It’s intense and refreshing ! 

 A beautiful purple and bright dress..

Duck livers
Tripe sausage
Saint-Nectaire
Red berry crumble

 Planted on a sunny terroir, Château Gigognan’s vines are also in a place where strong winds blow, notably the warm and powerful mistral. Thus, berries ripen but keep their freshness thanks to the wind. This kind of terroir gives amazing wines : the high level of sugar and alcohol given by the sun is balanced by wind’s freshness, and the result is a powerful wine with a great length. 

Languedoc is not only about strong wines with high level of tannins and aromas of ripe fruits. Château de Jonquières is quite the opposite with its delicate aromas of flowers, slightly enhanced by white pepper. It’s always nice to see that some winemakers enjoy giving a different expression of their terroir. This freshness and length is particularly remarkable. 

 A beautiful raspberry dress..

Chicken salad
Roasted partridge
Laguiole cheese
Plum cake

 Chateau de Jonquières is located just under the Causse du Larzac plateau. The vines enjoy warm southern winds from the Mediterranean as well as fresh masses of air falling down from the nearing plateau. Therefore, the temperature gets neither too high nor too low. This kind of conditions favours a slow but regular maturation which gives to the grapes a remarkable complexity. 

Burgundy’s red wines arefascinating : they all are elaborated with the same grape variety and yet they offer an astonishing diversity. This is due to the unique diversity of terroirs in the region. This Hautes Côtes de Beaune displays beautiful aromas of raspberry and rose delicately enhanced by a gentle acidity and very thin tannins. However, pinot noir is a fragile and demanding variety : do not hesitate to aerate it several hours before service so it fully displays its bouquet. 

 A beautiful ruby dress with fluid tears..

Chicken salad
Turkey breast
Soumaintrain cheese
Raspberry tart

 Long strip bordering Côte de Beaune’s villages on the west, Hautes Côtes de Beaune are a succession of hills and valleys. Thus, vines are all planted on slopes which allow them to benefit from a good exposure to sun and wind. It ensures a good level of ripeness, which is very important in such a northern region, and keeps the wine healthy, also very important for pinot noir, a noticeably fragile grape variety. 

It’s a very typical Cru Bourgeois that I chose this month. The robe is dark and deep. The nose is complex, with hints of spice, and is very promising. On the palate, I was impressed by its perfect balance and its amazing structure. The aromas of violet and red berries perfectly pair with the aromas of licorice, sign of delicate aging in oak barrels. A very refined Cru Bourgeois, quite classical in its structure but quite original in its aromas. 

 A beautiful garnet dress with purple hues..

Paté
Sirloin steak with shallot sauce
Saint-Nectaire
Fresh raspberries

 If cabernet-sauvignon and merlot are expected as there are some in almost all the wines in Bordeaux, the presence of malbec is a bit more surprising. Malbec used to be quite widespread in Bordeaux until the sixties. It’s used to give more structure to the wine thanks to its usually thin but abundant tannins.