Chateau Soutard Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2016 750ml

The 2016 Soutard has a tightly wound blackberry and marine-tinged bouquet, touches of iodine infusing the fruit, perhaps a little more backward than recent vintages have shown at this stage. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin, good acidity, quite fresh with a touch of orange sorbet that brightens up the pretty finish. Soutard has been threatening to make a wine as good as this! Recommended. (91-93)

• Country: France
• Region: Bordeaux
• Appellation: Saint Emilion
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Red Bordeaux

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world’s finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six ‘official’ Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act ”“ the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.