Saint-Émilion

The Saint-Emilion appellation is located in the Libournais on the Right Bank of the Dordogne and gives its name to two appellations: Saint-Emilion and Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. The vineyard is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. There are four types of land in Saint-Emilion: clay-loam soils, clayey soils, limestone composed of alluvial deposits and sands.

Merlot represents 60% of the grape variety alongside Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines of Saint-Emilion have grain. Their structure, supported by strong tannins, rounds out with time and is wrapped, in good vintages, of a tasty flesh. The wines of Saint-Émilion are intrinsically linked with the medieval village from which they take their name.

The Saint-Emilion appellation is one of the most beautiful corners of the Bordeaux region. The name comes from a hermit, Emilian, a Benedictine monk who settled in the village and led to a host of monasteries and convents being created here.

A part of important features of Saint-Émilion appellation for red wines are as follows:

• Soil: Center: limestone plateau surrounded by chalky soils with a clay-loam texture. Northwest: sandy layer on top of rather clay-like soils.
• Taste: Can be powerful and concentrated as well as refined and delicate. Typically, generous, warm, and round with body and solid but velvety tannic structure.
• Wine color: red.
• Aromas: Wild strawberry and currant followed by sweet spices, vanilla, leather, and smoke notes.
• Aging potential: 5 – 30 years.
• Serving temperature: 15 to 17° C