Alcohol: 14.5%
Grape(s): 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Localization: Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, France
Tasting Notes: This wine is made from young vines. It has aromas of red and spicy fruits, and subtle and elegant tannins which are ripe and tasty. Merlot imparts rowdiness, elegance, and plum, while the Cabernet Franc brings white spices, cassis, and a superb freshness. It can be kept for 10 years or more.
94 Points James Suckling: Château Croix de Labrie is certainly a “garage winery.” It makes three different wines in the small winery on the outskirts of the town of Saint Christophe des Bardes. Everything is done by hand here from tending the vines to topping the barrels. This is Burgundy in St.-Emilion, as the three wines all represent specific parcels of the winery’s vineyards, including Croix de Labrie, Chapelle de Labrie and Les Hauts de Croix de Labrie. The wines are distinctively different: the Croix de Labrie shows the most structure of the three, Chapelle de Labrie has the most minerally character, and Les Hauts de Croix de Labrie has the softest, most velvety texture. There’s a subtle and friendly nature that I always like in this wine. Hints of hazelnuts, chocolate and berries. Medium to full body, fine and polished tannins and a beautiful finish.
Notes: The soils are worked 100% organically and biodynamically. Only fully ripe grapes are harvested, resulting in extremely low yields. The harvest is done manually, in small crates, so as not to damage the grapes. Several passages per row are made in order to collect only the perfect grapes. The vinification is carried out in small containers adapted to the size of our plots in order to work with small quantities of juice and to be strict on the selection. Once the alcoholic fermentation is finished, the malolactic fermentations are carried out in vats and barrels of French oak and medium-long toast. Ageing then continues for a minimum of 18 months in barrels.
The Domain: Château Croix de Labrie is a 5,1672 ha estate located in the heart of the AOC Saint-Emilion Classified Grand Cru, an appellation that inevitably brings to mind Burgundy with its mosaic of plots and producers.
The vineyard is worked by Axelle Courdurié from pruning to harvest, from vinification to bottling. A talented winegrower and very attentive to detail, Axelle also brings her feminine sensibility to the wines of Croix de Labrie.
The plots are located on the so-called places: Badon (next to Pavie), Le Cateau in Saint Sulpice (next to the first plot of Valandraud), and in Saint Christophe Des Bardes next to our cellar (dating from 1687). The Badon terroir is composed of limestone sand and clay with a clay-limestone subsoil and iron grim. This draining, very fine terroir brings finesse. The plot of Le Cateau is composed of gravels with clays which bring more depth and density. Finally the plots of Saint Christophe Des Bardes, on the plateau, places called Peymouton, Rocheyron, Echeres, characterized by a clay-limestone soil with asteries, bringing complexity and density. The property's main grape variety is Merlot but there are also Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
