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Chateau D'Aiguilhe

2010
Producer
Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg
Blend
20% Cabernet Franc
80% Merlot
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Cotes de Castillon
UPC
0 15643 25492 5
Red Wine
Verified Stock
305-10
Product Ratings
James Suckling 92-93pt

This is so good already. What an amazing precision of fruit for this wine, with a blackberry and blueberry character as well as minerals. Full and super silky with lovely fruit. Gourmand. Tasty. I want to drink it. Always great value!

by James Suckling, 2011
Wine Advocate 91pt

From the brilliant proprietor Stephan von Neipperg, the 2010, a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that hit 15% natural alcohol, is ripe and intense but exhibits good minerality and freshness as well as lots of blueberry and blackberry fruit, with hints of charcoal, licorice and asphalt. Rich and full-bodied, with no hard edges, this wine should drink beautifully for 10 or more years.

by Wine Advocate, 2013
Wine Spectator 92pt

Very lush and expressive, with caressing plum sauce, mulled blueberry and blackberry fruit and melted licorice and warm fruitcake flavors, all gliding together through the finish. Offers lovely range and a seductive mouthfeel. Drink now through 2019.

by Wine Spectator, 2013

Food Pairing

We recommend pairing this wine with an aperitif, Deli meats, Red meat, White meat, Poultry, Game meat, Worldwide Dishes and Cheese.

History

Members of the Franconian aristocracy with a long political and agricultural tradition, the Counts von Neipperg family line can be traced back to the 12th century. Representing some eight centuries of winegrowing and winemaking experience, today Count Stephan von Neipperg manages the 9 family-owned estates, 4 of which are in Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux: Château Canon La Gaffelière, La Mondotte, Clos de l’Oratoire, Château Peyreau.

Ageing

In new oak barrels (50%) on the lees for 17 months. No fining or filtering

Vinification

In wooden vats for 25 days. Extraction by pneumatic pigeage (punching down the cap)

Estate

Acquired by Stephan von Neipperg in late 1998, Château d’Aiguilhe is one of the finest and most beautiful vineyards in the Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux appellation. Located back from the river, the château's dignified ruins bear witness to a long and turbulent history.

Formerly the heart of a fortified farm, the château dates from the 13th century. Everything leads us to believe that the Aiguilhe seigneury was vast, with several large fiefs. Located on the frontier between areas occupied by the French and English during the Hundred Years' War, the château had a major strategic role and changed allegiance regularly according to the political tendencies of the seigneur... Later on, the château belonged to the Albret family, then the Leberthons, who contributed several members of the Bordeaux parliament. Before emigrating on the eve of the French Revolution, the Leberthons sold the estate to a certain Etienne Martineau, who transformed it into a huge 400-hectare farm in a single block that stayed in his family until 1920.

Today, the estate covers 140 hectares, including 90 planted with vines. The vines grow exclusively on the plateau, where they benefit from south-facing sun exposure and excellent natural drainage. A thin layer of rather meagre clay-limestone and clay-silt topsoil overlays a limestone substratum that ensures remarkable water regulation. Combined with the average age of the vines, this terroir is ideal for producing quality wine.

Château d'Aiguilhe produces also a fruity and quaffable second wine, known as Seigneurs d'Aiguilhe, and since 2015 a 100% Sauvignon Blanc called Le Blanc d'Aiguilhe.