Château Cantemerle 2001

Characteristics and tasting notes for Château Cantemerle 2001

Tasting notes

Appearance
This red wine reveals a bright, evolved colour, with a dark core extending into delicate tawny and orange hues at the rim.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet is particularly complex and accomplished. It exudes aromas of black fruits such as blackberry and cherry, harmoniously intertwined with resinous notes of liquorice, cashew nut, sweet spices and undergrowth.

Palate
The attack offers generous, immediate pleasure, revealing a structure built more on charm than power. The texture is velvety, supported by perfectly integrated, silky tannins. Flavours of dried fruit and liquorice coat the palate through to a wonderfully lively finish, which elegantly conceals the age of this wine.

Food and wine pairings

The estate recommends enjoying this wine with a rabbit terrine or roast guinea fowl. More broadly, its integrated structure and tertiary aromas will pair beautifully with white meats, flavourful poultry, dishes in a light mushroom sauce, as well as with moderately intense pressed cooked-curd cheeses.

Serving and cellaring

Château Cantemerle 2001 has today reached a superb plateau of maturity. It is ready to be enjoyed now, to fully appreciate its tertiary aromas and silky tannins, while still retaining the capacity to hold for a few more years under good storage conditions.

The elegance and charm of a Haut-Médoc classified growth

The estate

Located in the Bordeaux region of France, Château Cantemerle has feudal origins dating back to 1147, though the establishment of its vineyard is officially documented from 1354. This classified growth spans an estate of 200 hectares, of which nearly 98 hectares are devoted to vines, with the remainder home to preserved natural land. Owned by the SMABTP group since 1981 and currently managed by Laure Canu, the estate stands out for its commitment to biodiversity and wine tourism, producing wines renowned for their finesse.

The vineyard

Located in the south of the Haut-Médoc appellation, in the commune of Macau, the vineyard is planted on terraces of Quaternary gravel and siliceous sand. This terroir benefits from a distinctive microclimate, cooled by the proximity of the Gironde estuary and protected by an extensive surrounding forest park. This rich biodiversity encourages slow, steady ripening. The vines, planted at a high density of 9,600 vines per hectare, are trained using double Guyot pruning. The technical team carries out careful leaf thinning and green harvesting to control yields and ensure the excellent health of the grapes.

The vintage

Following in the tradition of the great early-century vintages, 2001 is recognised as a classic and particularly well-balanced year. The growing season's climatic conditions allowed for the development of structured fruit, with fine natural acidity and ripe tannins, providing ideal conditions for crafting wines built for a long evolution in the bottle.

Winemaking and ageing

The grapes are hand-harvested with a rigorous double sorting process, both in the vineyard and at the winery. The berries are entirely destemmed before undergoing a six- to eight-day fermentation at controlled temperatures. This is followed by an extended maceration of 28 to 30 days to extract the structure needed for ageing. Château Cantemerle 2001 is then aged for twelve months in French oak barrels, half of which are new, with a medium toast. The wine undergoes light fining but no filtration before bottling.

Grape varieties

50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Petit Verdot