Chateau Rouget Pomerol 2023 750ml

93-95 The 2023 Rouget is plush, silky and super-expressive. All the elements are impeccably balanced. Crushed flowers, spice, red/purplish fruit, mint and blood orange build nicely with time in the glass. Sensual and refined, Rouget is terrific in 2023. Rouget has always been a pretty extroverted Saint-Émilion. These days, picking a bit earlier and a touch of stem inclusion (30%) in the Merlots yields a bit more freshness, but there is still plenty of the textural richness that is such a signature here. Tasted two times.

• Country: France
• Region: Bordeaux
• Appellation: Pomerol
• 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.