Château de Parenchère - Bordeaux Supérieur Cuvée Raphaël 2018
14/20
Bettane & Desseauve
90/100
James Suckling
89/100
Decanter
90/100
Wine Enthusiast
"Top value for money in Bordeaux"
"This is a Bordeaux that clearly deserves a generous rating. The nose is subtle and clean, with notes of plum and blackcurrant and a hint of dark chocolate. The palate is supple and smooth, with fine tannins and a successful integration of 25% new oak for 12 months of aging. A certain amount of "micro-oxygenation"—sending fine bubbles through the barrels—has broken down the tannins a little more, and it works here." (Decanter 2020) An incredible cuvée for its price!
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Eye
Intense color with purple highlights
Nose
Delivers plenty of freshness, with fruity notes of ripe cherry mingled with a fine, subtle woodiness.
Mouth
Harmonious, combining power and structure with freshness and omnipresent fruit, with noticeable but well-integrated tannins.
Serve
At 16-17°C
Apogee
2022-2029
Drink before
2030
Food and wine pairings
Enjoy with red meat, game, cheese, etc.
Bettane & Desseauve
Wine rated 14/20 (Good wine)
Rated estate (2021 guide) 1*Star (A serious production, recommendable, in line with what one would expect from its appellation(s))
About wine:
Ambitious, high-quality winemaking, perhaps a little heavy on the tannins, still a little austere. Good ripe, well-crafted substance. Overall, it lacks a little elegance. Keep for a few years.
About the estate:
Purchased in 1958 by Raphaël Gazaniol, originally from Morocco, the estate currently covers 180 hectares, 70 of which are planted with vines on the best-exposed plots. Thirty-two different plots are vinified separately and are used either for the already high-quality base wine or for the famous Cuvée Raphaël, a striking demonstration that a simple Bordeaux appellation can produce magnificent wines, or even the Cuvée Esprit, produced only when the vintage is suitable, based mainly on Cabernet aged for 14 months in new barrels. The production is completed by white Bordeaux and Bordeaux clairet. These are wines of character, balanced and charming. A consistent range with unfailing regularity.
Decanter
Wine rated (2020 guide) 89/100
About wine:
This is a Bordeaux that clearly deserves a generous rating. The nose is subtle and clean, with notes of plum, blackcurrant, and dark chocolate. The palate is supple and smooth, with fine tannins and a successful integration of 25% new oak for 12 months of aging. A certain amount of "micro-oxygenation"—sending fine bubbles through the barrels—has broken down the tannins a little more, and it works here.
Guide Hachette des vins
Rated estate (2021 guide) Award-winning wines (This producer's wines are regularly recognized by the guide)
About the estate:
On the border between the Gironde and Dordogne departments stands a Périgord-style château, built in 1570 by Pierre de Parenchère, governor of the Sainte-Foy-la-Grande region, and a vast vineyard (67 hectares) producing wines of consistent quality. Raphaël Gazaniol, a winegrower who had returned from Morocco, acquired it in 1958, then passed it on to his son Jean and granddaughter Julia. In 2005, a Swedish wine lover, Mr. Landin, who also owns a vineyard in Montalcino in Tuscany, bought the estate.
Guide des Vins Gault & Millau
1*Star rating (Serious production)
About the estate:
Located not far from Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, in the far east of the Bordeaux region, the Château de Parenchère vineyard benefits from a clay-limestone terroir with a very high clay content. The 60 hectares or so, planted with red grape varieties, give pride of place to Merlot (50%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%)—the latter on the best-exposed plots—supported by Cabernet Franc. Planting densities are gradually being increased to over 5,000 vines per hectare. A white wine has been added to the range for the last few vintages.
Wine Enthusiast
Wine rated (2021 guide) 90/100
Rated estate (2020 guide) Recommended (Wine producer recommended by Wine Enthusiast)
About wine:
Aged for one year in oak barrels, this wine offers rich tannins and a dense structure. Flavors of dark chocolate and licorice give an impression of firm extraction that needs to breathe so that the wine can develop. Drink from 2022 onwards.
James Suckling
Wine rated (2021 guide) 90/100
About wine:
A juicy red with notes of plum and berries, medium body, and supple, appealing tannins. Drink now or hold.
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