2005 Balthus Bordeaux Supérieur Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
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Lush, round, ripe, fat, dark, juicy fruits, licorice, smoke and espresso notes are all over the place. Concentrated, full bodied and rich, the wine is long, with intensity of flavor in the chocolatey, black cherry and even blacker licorice in the finish. 3,127 Views Tasted Jan 10, 2018 |
When to Drink Chateau Reignac, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Reignac is much better with at least 2-4 years of aging in good vintages. Young vintages can be decanted for 1 hour or so. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.
Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Reignac offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 3-14 years of age after the vintage.
Serving Chateau Reignac with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips
Chateau Reignac is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Chateau Reignac is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Reignac is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.
The best wine from Chateau Reignac is called simply Reignac. The wine is produced from the estate's oldest vines which are on average more than 40 years of age. This is the wine that you read most of the good comments on.
There is a second wine, Chateau de Reignac. This causes some confusion in the marketplace, due to the extremely similar names of the Grand Vin and the second wine. The second wine, which is called Chateau de Reignac features a white label and comes in a typical Bordeaux-shaped bottle. The Grand Vin has a brown label is comes in a taller bottle.
Balthus
In 2002, Reignac introduced a new, top-of-the-line wine, Balthus with the purchase of a small parcel of vines. Balthus is produced from a 3-hectare parcel of 100% old vine Merlot.
Balthus is produced using 100% micro-vinification techniques, meaning that the wine is made completely in the barrel from start to finish. In that regard, Balthus was ahead of the curve for small production wineries.
If you jump ahead about 8 years later, a few of the top Right Bank estates are also using micro vinification techniques, most notably La Violette in Pomerol. Balthus is the most expensive wine from vines planted in the Entre Deux Mers appellation as well as the most expensive Bordeaux Bordeaux Superieur.
The best vintages of Chateau Reignac are: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009 and 2005.
Chateau Reignac is a rich, concentrated, opulent, ripe, up-front style of wine that offers a lot of pleasure for the money. Plus, the wine shows well young.
Chateau Reignac is an outstanding value Bordeaux wine made in a crowd-pleasing style that drinks well on release, offers good character, and remains fairly priced. On average, when combined, the total production of Chateau Reignac is close to 30,000 cases per year.