Chateau La Clotte, the insiders Bordeaux wine of St. Emilion, will produce a concentrated wine in 2010, according to the owner Nelly Moulierac, who just started their harvest.
For the 2010 La Clotte Harvest, the chateau began picking merlot October 15. They are looking to finish with their cabernet franc by the end of October, or the first few days in November. Similar to 2008, this is a late harvest for this St. Emilion property. Nelly explains why.
“We decided to harvest as late as possible in order to get phenolic maturity.” What was the growing season like for you? ” The summers high temperatures brought a lot of tannins. The cooler September and October weather, with its occasional showers added balance, less alcohol, refinement of further development of aromatic potential.”
2010 is the driest vintage in memory. This level of draught can stop the grapes development. But as we learned in 2003, properties with a lot of limestone in their terroir can produce good wine. What happened at La Clotte?
“The drought, which may have compelled maturation to stop on some soils with gravel and sand, lead to a concentration of olfactory criteria on the skin thanks to our deep clayey-limestone soils.”
What does this mean for your 2010 Bordeaux wine? “This implies that 2010 is a vintage potentially very rich in tannins, anthocyanins and alcohol.”
Have you made any changes to your cellars or in your vineyard techniques since 2009? “During the summer, we completely refurbished the tank room. The old tanks were replaced with stainless steel tanks in various sizes. These range from 10 to 30 hectoliters. How will you take advantage of your new tanks? “The small tanks allow us to harvest and vinify by plot. This is important because it lets us pick each plot at the perfect time.”
3 Comments
Chris… I posted before I finished answering your question. 2008 and 2009 are the same level of quality, but different in style. 2008 has more structure. 2009 offers more of a lush style. If I had to pick, I’d go with the 2009.
By the way, I have tasting ntoes and ratings for over 2,000 different wines on this site. You can either go to the page for any winery you are interested in, or you can look under the tasting notes icon.
Thanks again for sharing.
Chris… I am happy you discovered the wines of La Clotte from one of my tips!
Chateau La Clotte Notes: Jeff, I stumbled onto La Clotte on your 05 vintage tasting notes in ERP MSBB and ended up getting qty 6 to lay down for a few years. O5 is quite impressive. Also found a small stash of 04’s (decent) that I’m saving until ready. I was fortunate to visit St. Emilion for a couple quick days last June on the end of a business trip (first time). Got to taste the 08 La Clotte fairly recently bottled when there……wow is that a big rich wine and a major keeper! Found a case on futures when I got back. Will be fun to see if 09 and 10 are in the same league! Many thanks for sharing the original 05 tasting note as I have turned into a big fan of this under the radar property. I would like to know how you view 08 vs 09?