Château Morin

A gorgeous nose leads to plump velvet dark fruits with lots of spice.

Château Morin is near Saint Corbian, one of the highest parts of Saint Estèphe. Acquired by Dr Constant Alibert in 1858, it stayed in the family until 2005, when Château de Pez purchased it. Its clay-limestone gravel terrain enjoys perfect exposure — an ideal microclimate for creating fine wines from the proximity of the Gironde.

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot

Vintage

2014

ABV

13

Code

10746

Style

Red

Methods

• Organic

Chateau Gaudin in Pauillac is made by Daniel Cathiard, one of only four independent winemakers left in the area. The average age of the vines is 35 years old but small pockets of the vineyard have vines of more than 60 years. 

Madame Linette Capdeville took over the seven hectares of vineyard from her grandfather and says she's been making wine since she was nine. They still use an ancient hydrolic basket press, actully made by the Gustave Eiffel foundry (yes, that Eiffel!), for extracting the juice from the grapes, as it is gentler with the grapes than more contemporary methods.

Her husband Daniel is the grower and is highly regarded in the area for his farming skills. He doesn’t use sprays unless necessary (as  Linette says “they’re too expensive!”) and he minimises the use of sulphites at the bottling stage.

The style of Chateau Gaudin is quite reflective of this delicate and minimal-intervention approach. It’s not overextracted and not, as madame says, a "body-building" wine. The wine is aged in oak, but only 30% is new oak. The most important thing is the fruit, which is sweet and ripe, and is supported by oak but not overshadowed by it.