2009 Chateau Aney Appellation Haut-Medoc Controlée

 

 

This wine is a Great example of typical French winemaking from Bordeaux situated in the Haut-Medoc between St Julien and Margaux. Mr. Aney founded the property in 1850. Since 1972, the estate has been in the hands of Jean Pierre Raimond. This wine is a hearty expression of all that is good from Bordeaux and reasonably well priced. 65% cabernet Sauvignon, 25% merlot, the rest is Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the lynchpins of classic Bordeaux wine. The soil type here is clay-gravel and sandy-gravel over a limestone substratum. The gravel stones retain the heat from the sunshine, protecting the vines from the frost in wintertime, and during the ripening season, they provide the necessary heat to promote sugar synthesis in the grapes. Cru Bourgeois is a guarantee of quality with strict governing rules that mean a wine can be promoted or relegated from the class on an annual basis. This is a great mechanism for controlling quality. This wine offers the classic Bordeaux phenolic structure, tobacco, cedar, black fruits, like cassis and blueberry. This wine is a wine meant for easy drinking with the family on a weekend evening over a BBQ and should drink well for another eight to ten years. I believe that wines from the Cru Bourgeois market are wines of character and integrity with hundreds of years of knowhow behind the label, which is the main reason that I am proud to sell this wine.