Chateauneuf du Pape can be enjoyed young, mid-term or with some age. The wines are myriad of wine styles and offer great character. They are food friendly, and for world class red wines with character, many remain fairly priced.
For the 2011 Bordeaux vintage, we invested in a new de-stemming machine called The Cube. This allows us to get outstanding results, much better than with hand de-stemming. This is extremely smooth to the berries. It looks like it caresses them!
We are going to begin the extraction carefully and adapt the nature of pumping over accordingly. The most difficult task this year, will be to extract enough tannin and color to obtain all the finesse and elegance we are seeking at Chateau du Tertre.
“It depends more on the weather, than on the early harvest. That said, when a vintage is very early, it means that the maturation period is warmer (August vs September) which is good for phenolic ripeness”.
Alcohol will be lower than previous vintage and the acidity will be good. The 2011 style would be tougher than its peers. It will probably be very classic, with a nice freshness and a less exuberant taste.
There are no secrets between good friends or lovers. That seems like a great way to approach life and cooking. That’s because there are no secrets to pairing Bordeaux wine, or any wine with food.
The 2011 Bordeaux growing season was crazy! The opposite of a normal year. But the vines went through it quite well.