Flowers, licorice, dusty chocolate and sweet, silky plums are in an abundance. Elegant, refined, fresh and vibrant and a delightful silky finish.
Earthy, forest aromas with leaf, mint, and cherries from start to finish, the wine is medium-bodied, soft, silky and perfect for early drinking, with its fresh, sweet, red plum attributes.
Chateau Les Cruzelles in Lalande de Pomerol is owned by Denis Durantou. Denis Durantou who purchased Chateau Les Cruzelles in 2000, is better known for owning one of the top estates in Pomerol, Chateau LEglise Clinet.
Located in the commune of Neac, not far from his Pomerol estate, the terroir of Chateau Les Cruzelles shares many similarities in terroir with his Pomerol chateau, due to its rich, clay and gravel soil. However, the soils for Les Cruzelles have more gravel with less clay than you will encounter at Chateau L'Eglise Clinet. More importantly, the terroir of Les Cruzelles was exactly what Denis Durantou was hoping to find in this region as this allowed Denis Durantou to expand his massal selection program.
The Lalande de Pomerol vineyards are only about 1 kilometer from Chateau L'Eglise Clinet. In fact, you can actually see the vineyard of Les Cruzelles from Chateau L'Eglise Clinet, if Denis shows you where to look.
The 10.5-hectare vineyard of Chateau Les Cruzelles is planted to 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. This could be the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc in the appellation of Lalande de Pomerol.
The terroir has clay and gravel soil. The majority of the blend for the wine of Chateau Les Cruzelles is usually taken up by Merlot. The vineyard is situated almost exactly in between Neac and Lalande de Pomerol. Recent vintages have seen as much as 80% to 90% of blend come from Merlot, with the Cabernet Franc ranging from 10% to 20%.
For the vinification of Chateau Les Cruzelles, the wine is fermented in tanks. The wine is then aged in 50%, new, French oak barrels before bottling.
Chateau Les Cruzelles is best paired with classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, game, roast chicken. Also match alongside Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna.