St Emilion
It’s a wine lover’s paradise. St-Émilion, a town of outstanding beauty.
The first wine area to be awarded the title of a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the appellation for some of the worlds’ greatest wines.
Located on the right bank of the river Garonne the appellation specialises in red wines from the grape varieties Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
The wines of St-Émilion are generally delightfully complex and elegant. Common fruit flavours include plums, strawberries, cherries which can become more dried and stewed with age. Oak ageing is very common, providing balanced flavours of vanilla, toast and nutmeg.
The wines often have a good potential to age, ranging anywhere from 3 to 30 years. Ageing allows the development of deeper leather, tobacco and chocolate notes which can result in outstanding wines.
The structure of the wine can be as important as its flavour profile and is extremely dependent on weather. Optimum weather patterns are sunny and warm during the day followed by cool nights. This allows the perfect balance of plump, jammy fruit flavours with refreshing acidity and a velvety tannic structure.
The wines of St-Émilion are greatly influenced by the varying soil types. The different soils include limestone, clay, gravel and sand and each type alters the composition of the grapes. This creates different styles of wine from heavier, richer and tannic to lighter and more elegant. Many of the highest rated vineyards are located on the limestone hillsides within the boundaries of the town or on soils with a greater gravel content much closer to the neighbouring Pomerol appellation.