Description
Château Caronne Sainte Gemme Haut Médoc 2015 is produced from roughly 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and in this vintage 6% of Petit Verdot. This mix is classic Left Bank Bordeaux, i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant so with black fruits – blackcurrant and blackberries but with this hot 2015 vintage also red fruits, raspberry and touches of redcurrant. It’s also fruit-forward on the nose but with liquorice and St Julien-typical hints of cedar wood and pencil. The fruits continue through into the palate. The heat during the 2015 summer days brought out fruit flavours in the wines – red and black forest fruit and blackcurrant dominate – but, equally importantly, the nights were cool which meant the grapes retained their aromas and acidity making the wines fresh. Sufficient tannins remain to give the wine backbone and potential for further ageing but they are incredibly soft and balanced by the fruit and the relatively high acidity. And therefore this wine is drinking beautifully now.
The Château Caronne Sainte Gemme dates from 1648 and has been in the hands of the Nony family since the 19th century; it is right on the southern edge of St Julien, the sub-region of Bordeaux that is home to eleven classed growth châteaux and known for its elegant and age-worthy wines. Whilst Chateau Caronne Ste Gemme falls within the Haut-Médoc appellation it benefits from old vines and from the same mix of gravel/ sandstone and clay soils that most of St Julien’s top chateaux enjoy. This combination gives the wines body, complexity, a smooth texture and mineral notes.
It is a shame that these days most Bordeaux red wines are consumed well before they are ready; Château Caronne Sainte Gemme Haut Médoc 2015 is a chance to try a wine with a few years under its belt and showing the true colours of a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant Left Bank Bordeaux. Fabulous!
Suitable for vegetarians but not for vegans