| Wine Styles | Cool/Moderate Climates • H acidity and tannins, M alcohol, with pronounced flavours of violet, black currant, black cherry, green bell pepper, leafy, with vanilla and clove (if new oak used), developing earthy notes with ageing • Bordeaux |
| Warm Climates • M to F body, H levels of ripe tannins with pronounced flavours of black currant, blackberry, minty, herbal notes and vanilla, cocona, sweet spices (if new oak used) • Napa • Coonawarra, Margaret River | |
| Viticulture | • Late budding • Late ripening (affected by early autumn rains); thus, needs warms sites to fully ripen • A small-berried, thick-skinned variety with high tannin • Highest quality fruit on warm, well-drained soils (e.g., gravels in Medoc) • May struggle to ripen in cooler years in Bordeaux • Pruning short in winter is a better way to control yields, allowing vines to find their natural balance • Bordeaux: Guyot common • Napa: general trend is early picking (to produce fresher styles) and high proportion of new oak • Prone to trunk diseases (esca, eutypa); soft pruning to reduce problems • Prone to powdery mildew • Prone to fanleaf virus • Prone to coulure |
| Winemaking | Single varietal wines; Bordeaux blends: blending with CF, Merlot, Carmenère, Malbec, Petit Verdot or blending with Syrah, Sangiovese Rosé production • CS and Merlot are the main varieties • Short maceration for deeper colour • Direct pressing for paler styles High volume Bordeaux • Machine harvest • Limited sorting only remove MOG • Fermentation >> Mid-range temperature (~25dC) >>Thermovinification or flash détente for fast extraction of flavour, colour and low levels of tannin and disrupt mouldy enzyme, laccase >>Cultured yeasts for reliability >> Inert vessels (stainless steel, concrete vats, wood) >>Pump over extract more colour, flavours, and tannins >> Short post-fermentation maceration for 5~7 days to limit extraction of tannins >> Maceration time is reduced in poor vintages of fruit is not fully ripe • Blending to achieve high volume, consistent house styles balanced with acidity, tannins, and flavour intensity • Aged in inert vessels for 4~6 months • Oak chips may be added for oak flavours High quality Bordeaux • Hand harvest to select high quality grapes at optimal ripeness • Collected in small containers at cool temperature to reduce crushed berries and lower risks of oxidation, microbial infections • High levels of sorting by vibrating belts, optical devices, or labour to remove diseased, underripe grapes • Fermentation >> 26~32 dC to extract more colour, flavours, and tannins >> cultured yeasts for reliability >> large/ small barrels >> pump over extract more colour, flavours, and tannins >> for en primeur, wines may be inoculated to ensure rapid completion of MLF for tasting in next spring. Cellars may be heated to encourage efficient MLF >> post-fermentation maceration for 14~30 days • Pneumatic press or modern vertical press for gentle extraction • Separate free-run and pressed wine to provide options for future blending • How free-run needs more structure and tannins can decide the proportion of pressed wine in the final blends • Matured in 225L French oak (100% new oak for premium wines) for 18~24 months • Use micro-oxygenation to soften tannins and leave wine undisturbed on the lees • Blending a few months before bottling, evolution of each lot can be accessed before making final decisions • Blending over winter for en primeur tasting in spring Napa: blending from various vineyards common; well-known single vineyard wines (To Kalon, Martha’s Vineyard) |
| Key Regions | France: Bordeaux Italy: Tuscany USA: California Australia: Margaret River, Coonawarra Chile, Argentina |
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