Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
75cl * 13.5% ABV * Bordeaux, France
Maison Sichel is a grower, winemaker and négociant éleveur - to save you reaching for your French dictionary, that last one's a purchaser of wine for bottling under its own name. Now I can't tell you exactly where Sichel source their Pauillac, but I can say that it's declassified fruit from one of Lafite-Rothschild, Latour or Mouton-Rothschild... First Growth-level fruit for under £25 - an unbelievable steal at 1/20th of the price of the Château label!
The deep red colour of this cuvée sets the tone for the taste - elegance and intensity. Beneath a spicy layer (nutmeg and toasted bread), the equally elegant bouquet unveils sustained, overripe dark and red fruit scents and earthy aromas. After a chewy attack, the ample, rounded structure unfolds, culminating in a long balanced finish. A wine that reveals all the richness of this exceptional terroir. Silky red fruit with a twist of pepper and liquorice spice, this is aged in barrel for 20 months. Rich and elegant, classic Claret.
While this is exceptionally approachable in its youth (2-3 years after vintage), it has cellaring potential to up to 2032.
"Produced by the Sichel Bordeaux merchant house, this wine is open, ripe and fruity, designed for early drinking. With restrained tannins and succulent blackberry flavors." Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast Magazine