Pic Saint-Loup Xavier 2005 (12x75cl)

Zoom	Vins rouges Appellation : Coteaux du Languedoc Millésime : 2005 La caisse TTC : 126 € La bouteille TTC : 10.5 €

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BLEND: Syrah 60%, Grenache 20%, Mourvèdre 20%.

SOIL:
• brown soil based on limestone talus screes from Cretaceous,
• slope 10 to 20%,
• altitude 150 to 200 m,
• south-east exposure for mourvèdre
• north-east exposure for syrah (under cliffs of Pic Saint Loup),
• multiple exposure for grenache

YIELDS : Less than 40 hl per hectare in average

VINES : Syrah are 30 years old, Grenaches more than 80, and Mourvèdres are 40 years old in average. Hand-harvested.

WINE MAKING: 3 weeks maceration : separate wine making before blending: syrah grenache, syrah, and grenache mourvèdre .

before fermentation, wine is left in cold atmosphere without alcool in order to opimize aromas extraction, before tannins are "drawn" in alcohol.

At the beginning of maceration, pigeage and remontage under 25 °C. At the end, use of the "marc hat" and heating to extract tannins and other phenolic materials in order to have a wine more round.
Micro bullage between alcoolic fermentation and malo lactic fermentation, then soutirage every 3 month.

80% is raised in tuns and 20% in french oak barrels. During this ageing (1,5 year), yeasts naturally sediment, so the wine is not filtered nor fined.

TASTING NOTES : purple robe with violine touch.

Intense noze: black fruits and cassis, light truffle. smooth spicy, almost peper at the end. Just bottled (June 2007), this Pic Saint Loup needs to open and should be decanted.

Soft and silky mouth, but very concentrated: nice buttered attack and good retro-olfaction. be patient to smell all aromas:first black fruits, then red fruits, then flowers (violette and mentholated licorice), and spices and dry fruits at the end.

already well balanced, this wine is going to improve while growing

TEMPERATURE : 14°C (58°F)

TO BE DRUNK WITH: White meats, red meats, grill

AGEING : Already good to drink, will smoothen and stay good during 8-10 years.

ALCOHOL : 12,9% - no sugar left - ACIDITY : 3,4g/l (H2So4) - PH : 3,73

PACKAGING: 12 bottles case.