Château Guilhem Prestige AOC Malepere Red 2015

We love Hannah Leadbeater. Upon being asked to write a tasting note for the wine that she discovered and fell in love with on holiday four years ago, she gathered the same friends that she's holidayed with and they sat around together, coming up with the following tasting note between them. Talk about team work!

Here is that (very accurate, in our opinion) note on this Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec blend from the Languedoc:

'This wine is packed full of character. The aroma is of red berries, cinnamon and vanilla. These flavours combine on the tongue with a slight pepperiness and a rounded mouth-feel. It is medium-bodied, delivering a great taste whilst being fresh on the palate. It has a long finish, making it great for savouring on its own. It also goes well with red meats, stews or lashings of French cheese!'

A family estate since 1878, six generations have given influences and added different techniques to the process used at Château Guilhem over the years. From the 1850s, big 24,000 litre oak barrels were built in the cellar by Bertrand's great-great-grandfather; in the 1920s his great grandfather introduced concrete tanks for big quantities of high volume wines; and, during the 1970s his grandfather introduced stainless steel tanks in smaller volume, to produce more quality wines. In 2005, with his daughter (Bertran’s mother), he removed all the old vines, replanting with Atlantic grapes such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which are more acclimatised to the Malpère terroir.

From 2009, they have produced grapes using ‘reasonable’ agriculture, which means that they don’t use pesticides and herbicides. They are also now certified organic. Bertrand, who is the winemaker as well as the owner, is influenced by his history at the Château, and by his oenological studies. So, he makes wine that is a combination between tradition and modernity and which respects the environment.

Grapes are produced according to organic farming principles and, in the cellar no chemicals are used. It is as much as possible a natural process, with natural fermenting at a low temperature, to retain the maximum aromas, in concrete tanks for a relatively brief amount of time.

Bright deep red colour, the wine has intense strawberry and blackberry fruit flavours, underlined by a hint of spice and chocolate aromas. On the palate it is round, soft and well-balanced.