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2016

Saint-Emilion

Saint-Emilion
AOC Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France
Made by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) team with the same care and passion that is given to their grands crus, Les Légendes R wines offer a great discovery of Bordeaux terroirs and tastes.

The vintage

2016 was a remarkable vintage in the Bordeaux region, reminiscent of the legendary 1990 in terms of both quantity and quality. It was a challenging year for winegrowers, with a very wet start to the growth cycle (800 mm of rain over the first six months of the year), a very dry period from 1 July to 13 September, and finally localized thunderstorms and a beautiful Indian summer that enabled the grapes to reach optimal ripeness. The red wines are rich, smooth and fruity, with tannins of a rarely obtained maturity and very deep colours.

Location

Saint Emilion is nestled on the right bank of the Dordogne, 40km East of Bordeaux.

Terroir

Saint Emilion presents a great diverstiy of soils due to erosion, between a fossil rich limestone bedrock, sandy-gravelly hilltops, clay limestone and sand on clay. The resulting wines range from fine and aromatic to more souple and generous.

Winemaking

This wine is made in the traditional Bordeaux methods : grapes are destemmed and crushed before being placed in thermoregulated stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Fermentation is conducted at 30°c and is followed by three weeks of maceration with regular pump-over to ensure a gentle extraction of the tannins. After malolactic fermentation, 40% of the wine is transfered into French oak barrels for a period of 12 months.

Grapes

85 %
Merlot
15 %
Cabernet sauvignon

Tasting

Deep crimson-purple colour. Elegant, refined nose, mingling toasted and vanilla notes with aromas of blackberries and liquorice. Full-bodied, rich and smooth on the palate, with a silky tannic structure and a long aftertaste of red fruit and graphite. Serving temperature: 15 to 17°C This wine can be enjoyed now or cellared for another 5 to 6 years.

More about the domain

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Lafite.com

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