Vignobles Dourthe Diane de Belgrave 2018

Diane de Belgrave is the second wine of Château Belgrave, classified as a Grand Cru Classé in 1855, in the Haut-Médoc appellation, owned by Vignobles Dourthe. Its name recalls the historic link between the cru and hunting. The 59-hectare vineyard consists of two high gravel mounds of deep gravel over clay subsoils, gravelly-sandy soils and clay outcrops, on the left bank of the Gironde.

Made from younger vines than those of the grand vin, this second wine benefits from the same vineyard work and facilities. The harvest is done by hand, in small crates, followed by optical sorting. Winemaking takes place in stainless-steel tanks of various sizes, then the wine is aged for 12 months. The 2018 vintage blends 85% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot.

This wine reveals notes of raspberry, black cherry, blackcurrant, ripe strawberry, blond tobacco, fresh mint, charcoal and vanilla. The ruby colour opens onto very ripe red fruit. The palate is round and voluptuous, supported by structuring, very fine tannins that accompany the whole tasting through to a harmonious finish.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.