Le Petit Cheval Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2006 375ml

Tasted at Bordeaux Index’s annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Le Petit Cheval has a fully mature, slight fungal bouquet with touches of wilted rose petal and burnt toast. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, still quite firm in the mouth considering its age, with tobacco-tinged red berry fruit and plenty of spice on the finish. The palate seems to have aged in better fashion than the nose. Drink over the next 4-6 years. Tasted January 2016.

• Country: France
• Region: Bordeaux
• Appellation: Saint Emilion
• Size: 375ml
• 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.