Aux Plantes, St Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, 2019
100% Merlot - 13% abv.
Luxurious from start to finish, this wine is bursting with dark fruit, with a curious herbaceous edge. The oak ageing supports the weight of the fruit and brings subtle spice, bark and earthy undertones. Full-bodied, elegant, ripe and deliciously long with well-integrated tannins. We expect nothing less from this St Emilion Grand Cru.
vegan ∙ biodynamic ∙ certified organic
100% Merlot - 13% abv.
Luxurious from start to finish, this wine is bursting with dark fruit, with a curious herbaceous edge. The oak ageing supports the weight of the fruit and brings subtle spice, bark and earthy undertones. Full-bodied, elegant, ripe and deliciously long with well-integrated tannins. We expect nothing less from this St Emilion Grand Cru.
vegan ∙ biodynamic ∙ certified organic
100% Merlot - 13% abv.
Luxurious from start to finish, this wine is bursting with dark fruit, with a curious herbaceous edge. The oak ageing supports the weight of the fruit and brings subtle spice, bark and earthy undertones. Full-bodied, elegant, ripe and deliciously long with well-integrated tannins. We expect nothing less from this St Emilion Grand Cru.
vegan ∙ biodynamic ∙ certified organic
Growing up in Libourne, it was inevitable that Olivier Cazenave would fall in love with the world of wine, but it’s his revolutionary approach to winemaking and desire to break the rules that sets him apart. Having worked in export sales for a number of negociants, in 1998 he became co-founder and the buyer at ChateauOnline, one of the first e-commerce websites in the wine business. In 2003 he and Anne were married and decided they wanted their own vineyards, as he says: “You would have had to be crazy to buy a property in Bordeaux in 2003” … but that they did. After much searching, they discovered a property, whose garden meanders to the bank of the Dordogne, just 5km south of Libourne.
The first few years were about slowly replanting and discovering the terroirs and by 2016 all of his vineyards were worked bio-dynamically, with 2019 being the first certified vintage. As well as vineyards in the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur appellation, Olivier co-owns and rents a couple of other plots including a small cuvee ‘Aux Plantes’ St Emilion Grand Cru. His first vintage, 2011, was awarded by Revue des Vins de France “The best new talent for wines less than 20€” and also ranked second amongst all St Emilion Grand Crus.
Harvested by hand from a biodynamically cultivated vineyard. After a pre-sorting in the vineyard, the grapes are destemmed and free run juice vinified in stainless steel vat with indigenous yeasts at a temperature of between 28-30°C. Maceration takes place over a period of 2 to 4 weeks, then the wine is aged for 18 months in casks and barrels, 30% of which are new oak, as well as a percentage that is aged in clay amphora.