August 6, 2012 · Team HG
If the wine I recently rediscovered makes the front page of De Telegraaf as often as Estelle C.'s new love, then I'm completely losing it... and so are the sales!
Château Lamartine Expression 2008Cahors, France. Cahors in the Southwest of France has become known for its robust, black wines. With the Cuvée Expression, Alain Gayreaud produces a highly concentrated red wine made exclusively from Cot grapes (better known as the Malbec grape). These come from his oldest vines, which yield a particularly low harvest. After a long maceration for maximum extraction of color and flavor, the wine ages for 20 months in new oak barrels, 6 months of which are spent using the bullage technique*, known from Madiran. In this process, tiny bubbles of oxygen are blown into the wine to soften the tannins. It is only ready to drink after 4 years of "captivity" in the bottle, but by then it is free of sharp edges while possessing full expression. And the wine can take a beating, as it is the perfect accompaniment to beef (steak) or a very powerful game dish. *And in this case, I mean bullage... blowing out...!
Author Mr. W. Snaak / www.josbeeres.nl / HG
