It’s not news consumers find many Bordeaux wines expensive. The truth is, at the top end, Bordeaux is pricey. Once you move past the top 50 wines, Bordeaux offers the unique combination of value and style coupled with the unique ability to age. Plus, because many Bordeaux wine producers make a lot of wine, the wines are easy to find! One of the better Bordeaux value wine producers is Chateau Reignac.
If you want to read numerous wine tasting notes from Chateau Reignac
Chateau Reignac Bordeaux Superieur, is a consistent producer of quality wine that sells for fair prices. The modern age of the property starts in 1990, when it was purchased by Stephanie and Yves Vatelot who have spared no expense in striving to produce the best possible Bordeaux wine from their terroir. They are situated on the western side of Entre-Deux-Mers. Their vineyards reside on soil consists of gravel over clay with limestone.
The spare no expense attitude starts with serious vineyard management practices. This includes; debudding, deleafing, desuckering and green harvesting. Only organic fertilizers are used. All the vineyard work is done by hand. For Chateau Reignac, a Bordeaux Superieur property, that is very labor intensive.
Chateau Reignac is a total of 135 hectares, 80 of which are under vine. Malolactic takes place in 100% new oak and the wine remains in the oak for between 16 and 20 months.
According to Chateau Reignac, part of the quality of the wine is due to the estate’s 4 specific steps taken during barrel fermentation. They have applied for a patent ofr parts of their process. Grapes are placed in the barrel through a specially designed lid before maceration. Or after cold maceration, the berries travel from stainless steel vats on a specially designed sluice. The barrels rest on a rack allowing for easy rotation, along with an internal device that is attached to the head of the barrel. Once maceration and fermentation is completed, the wine is racked from a sluice valve that is attached to a removable barrel head. The lid opens and the pomace can be quickly removed. Lastly, the detachable barrel head is eventually replaced with a traditional top while the wine ages in barrel. These steps, along with the intense efforts in the vineyard allow this wine to compete with many Right Bank properties in blind tastings.
Chateau Reignac Barrel Cellars
The average blend for the wine is 75% merlot and 25% cabernet franc. The top wine from the estate is called Grand Vin Chateau de Reignac. This wine comes in a unique, tall, thin bottle shape. This is the wine that you read most of the good comments on. The estate produces a lesser red wine that is simply called Chateau de Riegnac. This Bordeaux wine comes in a standard shaped bottle. The estate also produces a white Chateau Reignac Bordeaux wine.
