Thursday 18 February 2016

France – Castel de Brames Serena Cépage Oublié 2014


Domaine and vineyard
The Domaine Castel de Brames is located in the small village of Brames-Aigues, in the South West of France, is the country yard between Toulouse and Albi. We are in one of the most ancient terroir of the AOC Gaillac, exactly on the third slope of the left side of Tarn river.
Terrain here is made of sediments deposed all along the centuries by the river, with sporadic presence of clay or stones.
The hill slope is sometimes very marked and all the vineyards are exposed to South-West. In few words, the perfect mix to give to Gaillac wines the right amount of sun and quality.
The domaine produces grapes over its 30 hectares of property, 20 of them are dedicated to red grapes, with a mix of international and autochthone grapes. In the remaining 10 hectars are cultivated white grapes, following the same principle of mixing international with autochthone. At the head of this business, since 1969, the couple composed of Camille Bauguil and Alain Boullenger, who, from 2007, decided to perform a little internal revolution by eliminating all machinery in the cave to re-discover the ancestral way to produce wine: horizontal tanks, feet to pressure and mix the grapes, in the ultimate aim to recover, in a modern way, the old aromas and flavors the industrial production was erasing.
No organic anyway but a “reasoned” conduction of the vineyard, with no chemical substances, controlling herbs and density of leaves on the vines.
The wine

Castel de Brames Serena Cépage Oublié 2014 is a 100% Prunelart. The vines quite young (average 7 years old) and are trained in Cordon de Royat system with an average yield of 30 hl/ha. Grapes are harvested using machineries. The pressured grapes undergo the fermentation process in horizontal tanks at controlled temperature with daily remixes of juice and lees realized using feet. The wine is finally bottled and sent to the market.


Tasting Note

Date
16 February 2016


Wine name
SERENA CEPAGE OUBLIE
Vintage
2014
Nation
Francia
Region
Languedoc
AOC-DOC
Gaillac
Grape Varieties
100 % Prunelart
Serving temperature
18° C
Alcohol
12,5
Price (in euro)
11
SO2 (in mg/l)
Nd




 


Visual Examination
Taste analysis
Limpidity
Limpid
Body
Weak
Color
Purple Red
Balance
Quite Balanced
Consistency
Quite consistent
Soft sensations
Scarcely Soft
Effervescence
//
Hard sensations
Quite Tannic


Flavors intensity
Scarcely Intense
Olfactory analysis
Flavours
Rose, prunes, pepper
Aroma intensity
Intense


Complexity
Scarcely Complex
Finish/Persistence
Scarcely Persistent
Quality
Quite Fine
Overall evaluations
Aromas
Litchi, rose, violet, black
Development
Ready/Young

Pepper, prunes
Harmony
Quite Harmonious
 


Food pairing
The wine matches perfectly with strong dishes of Mediterranean cuisine or meats. Another interesting pairing is with chocolate desserts.

  
Here it is another almost disappeared grape variety of South-West of France. Prunelart, at least in the hands of this wine maker, is still an in fieri project, being the wine unripe, weak in body and characterized by a little effervescence. The olfactory impact is really nice, with an explosion of wonderful aromas which unfortunately last only few seconds. Same for the tasting part: flavor is nice, despite that little effervescence that at least has the capacity to balance the acidity. And with a persistence that is too scarce.


Official website: www.castel-de-brames.com








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