Château Vieux Chevrol 2004, A.C. Lalande de Pomerol  **HERITAGE WINE**

color: medium intense red with no purple.
Nose: a bit restrained, spicy, earthy, fruity (cherries, berries), a touch of smoke, tobacco, aniseed, truffles, vanilla (a whiff), a bit classic and phenolic, some balsamic nuances, refinement, elegance and good intensity, well balanced.
Taste: medium bodied, medium powerful, good intensity, quite compact, with earthy fruit, spices, some herbs, tobacco and a touch of liquorice, very nice tannins: round and velvety, but also spicy and fresh, already maturing a bit, some complexity and refinement, also elegant and fine, still hidden potential, excellent balance.
Finish: quite long, but elegant and intense, some young tannins, but also already maturing nicely, many nuances of earthy fruit, good refreshing acidity,  some herbs, tobacco and spices.

* One of the most original and most honest Lalande de Pomerols: elegant, with concentration, restrained power, refinement, balance, freshness, velvety texture, beautiful complex earthy and spicy fruit, compact structure and understated richness, very natural and clear style, not to impress but inviting you to explore all its subtle and intriguing nuances.

- Ready to drink now, will strongly improve (more complex & even softer) the next 5 years, will keep well up to 2015 maybe even longer. It is the balance in this wine that makes it so well adapted to maturation.

- Mr. Champseix is one of the most reliable producers in Lalande de Pomerol, bordering the most famous Pomerol area producing frightfully expensive wines. You will not find the depth, power and sheer class of the best of Pomerol wines in Château Vieux Chevrol, but you get one of the most natural and honest wines from the region characterized by the unique velvety smooth, earthy taste. Smooth and fruity, but less full and rich as good Saint-Emilions, more earthy and elegant, not unlike good Haut-Médocs.  The Vieux Chevrol wines are the supreme expression of the (acid clays with gravel) terroir of the (20 ha.) vineyards. The use of oak is limited to maturation (14 months) in thick walled (5 cm) huge casks (demi muids) of 600 litres, most of them old (up to 20 years). This wood does not add much vanilla to the wine's aroma's, it polishes the tannins by slowly maturing them and also makes the fruit more durable. The same method is successfully used by some classical Alsatian and German producers with a quality oriented attitude.
Produced from 80% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from vines averaging 25 - 30 years. Yields are modest (ca. 40 hl/ha) depending on the vintage, maceration on the skins during 4 weeks.
Mr. Champseix produces a unique wine that only can be produced in his vineyards. He believes strongly in his approach and he is so right to do it. I wish there were more of this kind of dedicated and hard working wine producers in this wold. Producers that express the unique circumstances in their vineyards by using well suited (regional) grape varieties.

- lotnr.: L 0401 LP

- tasted: 19-10-’06 

- estimated retail price ca. 12 euro

-  production:  ca. 100.000 bottles

- Château Vieux Chevrol, Mr. J.P. Champseix 33500 Néac-Libourne, tel.: + 33-557 510980 / fax.: + 33-557 513105 / e-mail: g.champseix@laposte.net web site: www.vieuxchevrol.com