2019 L’HÊTRE Côtes de Castillon, Lea & Sandeman

L’HÊTRE

2019 Côtes de Castillon

IN STOCK
Grapes Merlot, Cab Franc
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Other Certified Organic
Sub-district Saint Emilion & Satellites
Village Côtes de Castillon
ABV 13.5%

The 2019 L'Hêtre lacks a little cohesion on the nose, slightly minty black fruit laced with cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins. Maybe this suffers a little over-extraction, though I appreciate the spicy finish and peppery aftertaste. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.

2019 sits in the middle of a trilogy of sunny (2018, 2019 and 2020), dry and hot vintages which produced wines at L'Hêtre that are rich, balanced, round and surprisingly fresh and elegant.
After a fairly cool start to spring, it was from mid-May that the temperatures rose sharply just before the vines were in flower. Flowering started very well with three days of good weather followed by rain. The early ripening vines flowered very well, the later or sensitive ones suffered from coulure and millerandage. The summer was particularly dry and hot with temperatures peaking above 40°C. Fortunately a few thunderstorms provided water just when the vines were starting to suffer.
We remain very active at L'Hêtre with new investments and improvements every year. In 2019, we installed seven new concrete tanks, which enabled better plot selection.
We harvested the Merlot on October 2, 3, 4 and 7 and the Cabernet Franc on October 11, after the quite beneficial rain between September 20th and 30th which accelerated the maturity of the grapes and lowered the alcohol levels. Blend.
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc.
Age of the vineyard: 40 years old.
Vineyard: Organic certificated by Ecocert.
Yield: 30 hl/ha.
Vinification: Concrete tanks with temperature control.
Aging: 30% new French oak barrels, 70% one wine French oak barrels.
% Alc.14,15 vol.
Tasting note: The 2019 L’Hêtre has a rich, deep in colour with the beautiful aromas of autumn fruits; it is precise and fruity with hints of smoke and spices. The texture is silky and fresh with a structure of appetizing acidity and quite intense but silky tannins.Winemaker's notes (Apr 2021)

L’Hêtre

Jacques Thienpont (of Le Pin and l'If fame) bought the beautifully positioned Château Goubau in 2015 with his sister, Anne de Raeymaker. The property is 100m up on the eastern edge of the Saint Philippe d’Aiguilhe plateau, the highest point in the Bordeaux region, and commands a stunning view. It had previously been named Château Goubau after another Belgian family who had owned it for ten years and it was they who had converted it to organic viticulture. In 2017 the Thienponts added another 10 hectares of vines from the neighbouring Château Montagne. From the 2016 vintage these wines are labelled L'Hêtre (the beech tree) and Raison d'Hêtre (oh come on, it's irresistible) - which continues Jacques' theme of naming properties after different trees.

The estate is managed by their nephew Maxime, who grew up at Château Labégorce-Zédé in Margaux.

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