Côtes de Bourg Château Grand Launay 2022

Château Grand Launay produces its oenological expressions within the Côtes de Bourg denomination, an appellation that revolves around the village of Bourg and is the only one of the five that mentions its name, among those that make up the area of the Bordeaux region called Blaye et Bourg. This is a region that until the mid-1980s was simply a reservoir of good wines at affordable prices: over the decades, various domaines with more than valid intentions have emerged, vinifying autonomously the fruits of their own vineyards.

Château Grand Launay produces this Côtes de Bourg by vinifying the Merlot and Malbec varieties from vineyards managed according to organic and biodynamic certification, in the area of the village of Teuillac. The plots extend over an area of 12 hectares characterized by clay and silt soil, on the right bank of the Dordogne, right near the junction point with the Garonne. The harvest is done by hand, among the dense rows of 5,500 vines per hectare, with a yield of about 50 hectoliters per hectare and, once in the cellar, the grapes are pressed and sent for maceration on the skins in unglazed steel and concrete tanks, then proceeding to spontaneous fermentation. The extraction of substances benefits from periodic pump-overs during the 6 weeks of vinification. The aging takes place in unglazed concrete tanks for 6 months and in French oak barrels for a period ranging from 6 to 12 months.

The Côtes de Bourg by Château Grand Launay presents itself in the guise of a deep ruby color. The aromas announce themselves with a dark fruitiness of blackberry and offer complex empyreumatic scents, of tar and smoky notes linked to hints of tobacco and toasted cocoa. The attack on the palate is decisive, the sip expresses itself immediately with pleasant minerality and a sensation of silky enveloping, while the polished tannins meet spicy nuances. A Bordeaux of frank value and with a surprising quality/price ratio, it offers open field for pairings: from the classic grilled entrecôte, to stuffed tomatoes, from soft cheeses softens even to a red fruit cake.