Château Villemaurine 2023

Characteristics and Tasting Recommendations for Château Villemaurine 2023

Tasting

Nose
Opening with red fruit notes, the nose exudes, as aeration progresses, delectable spicy aromas.

Palate
An ample, silky attack gives way to a palate whose liveliness and balance carry through to a saline, fruity finish.

A fresh and complex Red wine from Saint-Émilion

The estate

The earliest traces of Villemaurine date back to the Moorish era when the site was named « Ville Maure ». Château Villemaurine is now owned by the Lefévère family, owners of several estates including Château Sansonnet.

The 2023 vintage is the third produced by this family at the helm of the estate which, wishing to preserve the identity of this cru, has chosen to evolve the ageing process to diminish oak influence and allow more emphasis on fruit and aromatics of this Grand Cru Classé, exuding the finesse of its extraordinary terroir.

The vineyard

Superbly situated in the heart of the village of Saint-Émilion, the vineyard of Château Villemaurine covers 8 hectares of vines, 6 hectares of which are in production. The vines, averaging 35 years of age, are planted on clay-limestone soils resting on the famous Astéries limestone. Château Villemaurine is certified HVE 3.

The vintage

Although the start of the year was marked by early and uniform bud break, as was flowering, the warm and humid spring conditions led to high mildew pressure, kept in check thanks to the teams’ expertise. The relative warmth of early summer was offset by high temperatures in late August, promoting good berry ripeness. Harvested according to ripeness levels, the grapes are of excellent quality.

Winemaking and ageing

manual harvest in small crates, double vibrating sorting table, manual and density sorting, then gravity-fed filling. Vinification with pump-overs and punch-downs, then malolactic fermentation in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats. The wine is aged for 16 months in French oak barrels (70% new) and in foudres.

Blend

Merlot (70%)
Cabernet franc (30%).