A delicate, fruity Fronsac red wine
Estate: A magnificent estate on Bordeaux's right bank, Château de La Dauphine has become one of the Fronsac appellation's finest wines, vintage after vintage.
Sensory Features:Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 de la Dauphine opens with expressive notes of baked blackberries, prunes and Christmas pudding, leading to hints of eucalyptus, tar and dusty soil. The full-bodied palate is rich and decadent, delivering impactful exotic spice-laced black fruit preserves with just enough freshness and a velvety texture, finishing long and opulent
Grape Varieties: 85% Merlot & 15% Cabernet Franc.
Vineyard: The Fronsac terroir is made up of a mosaic of terroirs from which the Château de La Dauphine vineyard benefits. The vines, which cover almost 53 hectares, including 40 hectares dedicated to Château de La Dauphine 2020, are planted on clay-limestone, clay-limestone soils on Fronsadais molasses and asteriated limestone. Committed to an ethical and environmental approach in tune with the times, Château de La Dauphine cultivates its vineyards under organic farming certification as well as according to biodynamic principles. Since 2018, the estate's ethical commitment has been enhanced by EMS and HVE level 3 certification.
Vintage: A historically wet winter was followed by a tropical spring. These weather conditions, combined with the confinement of the vineyard, led to a major effort by the château's teams to protect the vines against mildew and to manage the soil. Dry, hot conditions in mid-May favored early flowering, two weeks ahead of schedule. From June 19 onwards, rain gave way to dry, cool weather until the start of veraison in mid-July, with summer conditions punctuated by drought and heat spikes. Thunderstorms in mid-August were the salvation of the vineyard and berry development. The harvest, which began some ten days ahead of schedule, was of excellent quality. Both Merlot and Cabernet grapes were extremely tannic and colorful, with very little acidity and no excessively high degrees overall.
Winemaking: Hand-picked grapes are harvested by plot. Gravity reception and double sorting. Temperature-controlled fermentation at 26°C. Vatting for 25 days. Extraction by manual pumping-over. Vertical hydraulic pressing with juice separation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels (of which 30% are new), as does ageing in separate batches for 12 months.
