Chateau Du Tertre Margaux (Grand Cru Classé) 2010
The Chateau du Tertre is a thousand-year-old estate whose vineyard, stretching over 52 hectares, remains unchanged since 1855.
During the 19th Century, the Chateau de Tertre wines rose to worldwide fame, especially thanks to the 1855 classification which established the Chateau as a Margaux Grand Cru Classe.
Grape Varietals & Region: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot from a 125-acre vineyard in Margaux, France. The terroir is mostly gravel, with some sand soils on two, gentle, sloping hills. The elevation close to the chateau graduates up to 27 meters, making it one of the highest peaks in the Margaux appellation. The location for much of the vineyard is situated close to a forest, which produces a slightly cooler, micro-climate.The cooler ambient temperature adds more freshness to the wines.
Taste Profile: Dense ruby/purple, with sweet cassis fruit, Du Tertre’s has a perfumed, elegant, lush, velvety-textured mouthfeel and impressive purity and depth.
Winemaking Process: For the vinification of Chateau du Tertre, the wines are vinified in a combination of 24 wood tanks, 10 concrete vats, 4 small cement eggs and 16 stainless steel tanks that range in size from 10 hectoliters up to 180 hectoliters, which allows for true, parcel by parcel vinification. The thermo regulated vats are filled by gravity. Chateau du Tertre vinifies on a parcel by parcel basis at temperatures ranging from 25 degrees to 30 degrees Celsius. Chateau du Tertre was one of the first Bordeaux wine producers to begin using the cement Nomblot egg shaped, cement vats. The estate uses 4 egg shaped vats in total. These vats add more minerality to the wine. Malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of French oak barrels and vats with 40% of the Malolactic fermentation taking place in barrel and 60% taking place in concrete vats. Chateau du Tertre spends on average 18 months in 50% new, French oak barrels and is lightly fined with egg whites.
