History
The roots of the Château de Sancerre go back to its founding in the 10th Century by the Count of Champagne. Destroyed during the course of the Wars of Religion, the castle was rebuilt in 1874 and purchased in the early 20th Century by the Marnier-Lapostolle family, producers of grand Marnier.
Vineyards
The vineyards cover 108 acres, and consist of old vine material planted in the southeast facing slopes of Sancerre in flinty limestone. The particularity of the Château de Sancerre is that on the estate, there are examples of each of the main soil types found in the appellation.
The first type is called terres blanches, and is composed of white clay and limestone. This terroir accounts for 30% of the total. It provides wine that is well-structured, with ripe fruit aromas and flavors.
The second soil type is called caillottes or stony limestone soils. This soil type accounts for another 30% of the total. This produces wines that are light and floral. The sylex soils are very flinty, and produce wines that are fresh and lively and take time to mature. The final type is soil composed of sand and clay and this soil type, producing fruity, forward wines, is found only in the vineyards of the Château de Sancerre. It accounts for approximately 15% of the total.
Winemaking
The grapes are harvested by hand and quickly pressed to reduce oxidation. The must is fermented over 70 days at 17°C in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with a portion being fermented on native yeasts. 30% of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, and the entire production is left on the lees with some stirring until bottling.
The new wine from Château de Sancerre is the Cuvée de Connetable, first introduced in 2003. This is produced from grapes harvested from the best terroirs: the caillottes and sylex soils located in the parcel known as the Clos du Roy. Two-thirds of the wine is fermented and aged in cask for a year with stirring of the lees, and one third is fermented in tank and allowed to age in tank for a year with stirring of the lees.
Strongest branding in the category
No other property has the right to use the name “Château de Sancerre”, which re-inforces the high quality image of the region and ties it to our property.
Most visible heritage in segment
With nearly a millennium of history, the Château de Sancerre is ideally placed to reflect the rich heritage of this unique appellation.
Access to all fours soil types, giving a balanced blend
The terroirs of the château provide a unique balance of rich, forward fruity qualities along with the firm structure,body and ageability that is missing from the wines of many producers.
History
The roots of Château La Nerthe go back to the first planting of vines in the area in the 11th century, and mention of the current estate date to 1560. From this time up to 1870 when phylloxera hit the vineyard, the estate was controlled by the Tulle de Villefranche family. In 1870, the property was sold to Joseph Ducos, who was a pioneer in the grafting of rootstocks, and was thus able to overcome phylloxera. The property remained in the hands of the descendents of this family until 1986, when it was purchased by the Richard family, who hired noted expert Alain Dugas to make the wines.
Vineyards
The vineyards of Château La Nerthe occupy 90 hectares of red clay covered with large rounded stones on the east-facing slopes of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The vineyard blend is described by the owner as follows: “Grenache and Cinsault giving alcohol and strength and making up 20% of the blend; Mouvedre, Syrah, Muscardin and Camarese (Vaccarese) giving age ability and flavor, and constituting 40% of the blend; Counoise and Picpoul giving freshness and aroma and constituting 30%, and the white grapes Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc giving finesse and brilliance, and comprising 10% of the blend.”
The five hectare plot for the Cuvée des Cadettes was planted at the beginning of the 20th century, and is composed mostly of Grenache and Mourvèdre along with a little Syrah. The white is composed of Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, and the blend for the Beauvenir is composed of 40%Clairette, and 60% Roussanne.
Grape Growing
Yield is kept very low – two to two and a half tons/acre (25 hl/ha). They are pruned to 4 – 6 spurs of two buds each, and leaves are pulled and a green harvest is conducted to improve ripeness and uniformity in the vineyard. Synthetic fertilizers are avoided, and the grapes are picked entirely by hand.
Winemaking
Sorted both in the vineyard and again on tables at the winery and then destemmed by hand, the grapes flow by gravity into a pneumatic press. After a gentle pressing with some berries left whole, the must is fermented in 60 hectoliter tanks. Extraction is assured by gently punching down the cap of skins into the fermenting juice (for the Grenache and Mourvèdre) and by pumping the juice over the top for the other varieties. Fermentation is conducted between 80 - 90° F.
After draining, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, partially in tank and partially in oak casks. Only free-run juice is used for the production of Chateau La Nerthe. Grenache and Cinsault are aged in tank or large wooden uprights, while other varieties are aged in 30% new Allier oak casks for a year.
The wines of La Nerthe undergo a strict selection process, with only a portion released under the main label. Some is sold under the second lable as Clos de la Granière, and some is sold off in bulk.
For the white wine, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc are fermented together, while the Clairette and Roussanne are fermented separately. All fermentations are done with wild yeast. The fermentation is kept at 64 – 68° F to improve extraction. No malolactic fermentation is done for this wine, and the wine is matured in tank.
Château La Nerthe is the oldest surviving property of the region
Founded in 1560, the winery still uses some of the original vats. This property is devoted to traditional winemaking with a modern flair, ensuring that the wines will be classic yet approachable.
Château La Nerthe is among the first to harvest
Because of the privileged location of La Nerthe’s vineyards on the ideal soil types and exposures, it is able to harvest ripe fruit before many of its competitors and thus produce top quality consistently every year.
Château La Nerthe uses all thirteen grapes
Fewer properties these days make use of the diversity allowed by appellation law in Châteauneuf. The use of these heirloom varieties guarantees complexity, elegance, and balance
Style of La Nerthe is one of balance and finesse
While some producers chase high score with over-extracted, over-concentrated wines, La Nerthe is a model of balance and elegance, producing wines that age gracefully for several decades.
Rhône Valley wines are enjoying a resurgence in popularity
Rhône wines are very hot – capitalize on the trend! Château La Nerthe specifically has received rave reviews, particularly since Alain Dugas took over the winemaking a decade ago.
Château La Nerthe is certified organic since 1998
History
Located in the shadow of Mt. Ventoux, Beaumes-de-Venise produces two AOC wines – a Muscat and a red. Although the Muscat has been produced for at least five centuries (and was granted AOC status in 1945), the red has only recently gained AOC status, having been promoted from Côtes du Rhône Villages in October of 2005.
The terroir of Beaumes-de-Venise is located on Triassic soil, and only above 1500 m in elevation. This is very distinct from that of Gigondas, which is Jurassic period limestone.
Domaine de Coyeux is the largest property in the appellation, with 70 ha planted to Muscat, and 32 ha planted for red wine production. No pesticides are used – instead, the soil is worked to remove weeds. Yields are very low – the maximum allowed for the Muscat is 25 hl/ha. 38 hl/ha are authorized for the red, but at Coyeux, the yield is held to 30 hl/ha.
The grapes are picked at the peak of maturity in two or three passes through the vineyard. After sorting, the bunches are pressed without crushing and drained before being lightly pressed. The must is cooled and fermented low temperature without settling – the fermentation takes place in stainless steel with a fair amount of turbidity in order to reduce the chances for oxygenation.
The first fermentation of the Muscat is arrested when there are 110 g/l of residual sugar. No additional sugar or acidity can be added to the must. For this reason, the MLF is blocked.
The period of fermentation and maceration of the red wine was almost 25 days in 2005, with two pump-overs daily (one with oxygen and one without).
Domaine de Coyeux is the category leader
As the largest producer in the appellation, Domaine de Coyeux enjoys more consumer recognition and better distribution than any of its competitors.
The wines of Domaine de Coyeux are consistently of the highest quality
In addition to size, Coyeux enjoys the advantage of owning some of the finest parcels in the Côtes-du-Rhône Villages area, and they have long been recognized as a qualitative leader.
The wines of Domaine de Coyeux give you something different to talk about!
History 
Chateau Cheval Blanc is considered to be among the top estates in the entire world of wine. It is classified within St. Émilion as a Premier Grand Cru Classé “A”. The only other chateau to share this distinction is Ausone. Eleven other chateaux in the current classification are Premier Grand Cru Classé “B”, and 68 are Grand Cru Classé. Hundreds of wines each year are allowed to use the designation Grand Cru, without the word “classé” to indicate that they have produced a fine wine in a particular vintage. These properties do not, however, have the distinction of printing Grand Cru Classé every year.
St. Émilion is both one of the oldest and one of the most youthful regions in Bordeaux. The roots of viticulture in the region stretch back to Roman times, more than a millennia before the swamps of the Médoc peninsula were drained. Wine production was maintained through long centuries by the monks of St. Émilion, whose 8th century churches dug into the side of the limestone plateau have been declared one of the world’s treasures by the United Nations.
St. Émilion today is also the scene of some of the most cutting edge grape growing and winemaking techniques in Bordeaux today. A youthful contingent of winemakers producing very limited production “micro-cuvées” is causing a stir among the established order in Bordeaux. These winemakers are known as garagistes because they make their small batch wines in tiny facilities, sometimes actually in their garage. The style is ample, ripe and soft, and every technique possible is used to accentuate these characteristics.
St. Émilion includes several different terroirs. The region is geographically very complex, but essentially includes a limestone plateau with thin topsoil, the relatively steep slopes that descend from it (with heavier, thicker soils), and an area of gravelly soil. Canon and Clos Fourtet are in the first group, Ausone and Pavie are in the second, and Cheval Blanc is in the third.
The Château 
The vineyard of Cheval Blanc was originally a portion of a much larger Figeac, whose proprietors sold 37 ha to M. Laussac-Fourcaud in 1832. The wine that brought the vineyard to international notice was the 1921. Consistently excellent wines have been made in the decades since this time. The ’34 and ’37 were among the most successful of their vintage. The 1947, with its deep, super-ripe fruit character has also been greatly sought after at auction through the years.
Cheval Blanc remained in the family of its founder (later called Fourcaud-Laussac) until its purchase by M. Bernard Arnault (president directeur-general of LVMH) and his partner Albert Frère in 1998.
The vineyard of Château Cheval Blanc occupies 41 hectares (ha) in the part of St. Émilion closest to Pomerol. La Conseillante and L’Evangile are its immediate neighbors on the Pomerol side, and Figeac on the St. Émilion side.
The vineyard is planted on three types of soil – gravel, clay, and a mixture of sand, gravel and clay elements, over a subsoil rich in iron. The gravel and the clay both limit water uptake because the gravel is well-drained, while the montmorillonite clays trap the water within the soil matrix, making it unavailable to the vine. This water deficit advances ripening, giving Cheval Blanc the lush richness for which it is famed.
The vineyards are planted to 60% Cabernet Franc (called locally Bouchet), Merlot 37%, Malbec (or Pressac) 2% and Cabernet Sauvignon 1%. The vines are planted at a density of 6,000 vines/ha, and the average age of the vines is 38 years.
Viticulture and winemaking 
The vineyards are replanted very slowly, at the rate of about 1 hectare each year. The vines are replanted with cuttings from existing vines of high quality that are grafted and planted out on low-vigor Riparia rootstock. No herbicides are used in the vineyard, with the soil being manually worked instead, and chemical treatments are used only as a last resort, with alternatives such as sexual confusion used wherever possible.
Perfect ripeness is carefully sought after, with the vines pruned to 6 – 7 buds/vines, and fruit load and harvest date being adjusted to achieve this aim each year. The harvest is done by hand, and yields are held to 35 – 40 hl/ha.
The grapes are brought to the winery in small, perforated baskets to reduce damage and carefully sorted by permanent staff. The winemaker, Pierre Lurton, crushes the grapes and ferments them at 30 – 32° C in stainless steel and cement tanks adapted to the size of the parcels, with a gentle pumping over and a length of fermentation of approximately 3 – 4 weeks. After malo in tank, the wines are gently pressed in a vertical press and racked into 100% new barrels for an average of 18 months. After élevage, the wines are fined lightly (but not filtered) and then bottled.
Château Cheval Blanc is the finest cru in St. Émilion
Few, if any wineries in the world outside of our portfolio have received the unanimous praise of nearly every knowledgeable observer. This has been true since the 1920s, when the property hit its stride. There are wines more rare than Cheval Blanc, but there are none finer (or more collectable). Because of this, Cheval Blanc is always in demand.
Château Cheval Blanc is unique
Only Cheval Blanc and Ausone in St. Emilion are classified “premier grand cru classe ‘A’”, and Ausone is a very different style. A lovely wine, it is heavier and fuller and softer, as is common in the Côtes. Cheval Blanc, located on gravel soils, is planted with a much higher proportion of Cabernet Franc. This distinction gives Cheval Blanc a unique place in the world of wine, making it irreplaceable for those who would have the finest.
Château Cheval Blanc brings prestige to any account that features it
Because of the international reputation of Cheval Blanc, it is a wine that makes a statement about a dedication to quality for the restaurateur or retailer that promotes it. It is an easy placement to make in any account that wants to focus on quality.
Petit Cheval is an extraordinary value
The second wine of the Château sells for only a fraction of the price of the grand vin. It is produced, however, by the same winemaking team from vines grown in the same vineyard. The second wine by itself can hold its own with nearly any Bordeaux or Bordeaux-style blend in the world. This gives us the opportunity to sell a wine with the greatest prestige, very great quality, and enormous value.
History 
Prior to the fifteenth century, Château d’Yquem was the property of the French royal family, who sold it to the Duke of Aquitaine. The Sauvage family was the ancestral tenants of the property, and Léon de Sauvage purchased it from the treasury in 1711. His great granddaughter married Louis-Amédée de Lur Saluces in 1785, and the property remained in the hands of the Lur Saluces family until its purchase by LVMH in 1999.
Vineyards
The estate is 180 hectares (ha), or almost 450 acres. 115 ha of this are planted to vines. It is located at the highest point in Sauternes, at 86 meters (m) above sea level, and all of the classified Sauternes chateaux are located within 2 kilometers (km) of this estate. The vineyard soil is a complex mixture of sandy gravel, clay, and limestone, and the terroir is spread over three small hills, which give different exposures. This also serves to "break up the wind", which can accelerate the spread of botrytis and its development. The variety of soil and exposition is one factor that gives Yquem its complexity.
Grape Growing
The grape blend in the vineyard is 80% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc, and no Muscadelle. The vines are planted at 6,666 vines/ha, and the average age is 30 -40 years. 12 ha of vines are replanted each year. The vines are pruned to leave six bunches on each plant, and no chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used. Harvest begins in general around the 15th of October, and usually is accomplished in 6 -7 passes through the vineyards, although it has taken as many as 12 in the past. Yquem will not harvest if the potential alcohol does not reach 20°. This corresponds to 350 g/l of sugar, or 15° ABV and 100 g/l RS. Yield is typically 7 -8 hectoliters (hl) per hectare – the famous "one glass per vine".
Winemaking
The grapes are pressed three times, twice in a pneumatic press at 6 bars pressure, and finally in a vertical press at 10 bars pressure. Although it is legal, Yquem never chaptalizes. Residual sugar is generally 100 g/l after fermentation to 15° ABV, although it may climb as high as 135 g/I, as in 1995. In some years they receive a derogation to acidify, although acidity is typically around 4 g/l, and it may be as much as 5 g/l (sulfuric). After an overnight settling, the wine is put into 100% new oak barrels, where it will ferment and stay for three years. Medium toast barrels are purchased from three suppliers. No cultured yeast is added to begin the fermentation. After the long, slow fermentation of the rich must, it is stopped when the alcohol/residual sugar balance is correct by the addition of sulphur and by refrigeration.
During the elevage, the wine is racked every three months, with the addition of sulphur at each racking to prevent refermentation. During the course of its evolution, 3 assemblages are made. Wine that does not meet the quality standards of the estate is routinely sold off as generic Sauternes. This wine can be from 2/3 of the total production in an off year to almost nothing in a very successful year. The estate produces no wine at all for quality reasons an average of one year in ten. The wine is fined and filtered in the third winter after the harvest and held in bottle at the estate for another two years.
Château d’Yquem is in a class by itself
During the 1855 classification of Bordeaux, Château d’Yquem was classified by itself as the only premier grand cru classé. Throughout the years, this division has remained constant, with d’Yquem being consistently more expensive as well as perceived as much higher quality than the other crus of the region.
Château d’Yquem produces one of the most collectible wines in the world
Because of both the higher quality and its special status, the wines of Château d’Yquem have always been highly sought-after on the auction market. It is the only Sauternes property to increase greatly in value with time.
Château d’Yquem essentially continues to improve forever
Château d’Yquem has a unique combination of concentrated botrytis aromas, high sugar levels, generous alcohol and, most importantly, high levels of acidity. These special characteristics mean that it is virtually indestructible. Bottles of d’Yquem at 100 years can still prove exciting and still evolving in spite of their advanced age.
Château d’Yquem is the essence of luxury
Château d’Yquem is powerful, concentrated, balanced and delicate all at the same time. In addition to these qualities, it is also very limited in supply and very expensive – because of this unique combination, it is also a great luxury.
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