Skip to main content

A Dinner Tasting at Château Freyneau

After a very full day, we arrived a bit late to our scheduled dinner visit at Château Freyneau with owners Eric and Valérie Maulin. My jet lag starts to make its presence known here, I somehow did not take photos of Eric cooking our beef course over vines or the dish prepared on the plate. I just ate it, it was delicious as was everything that they served us that evening.

Third generation winemaker, Eric Maulin toured us through the winery while sharing tastes and stories along the way. They make about 200,000 bottles annually, most of which being red wine. The 45 hectare family estate has been sustainably grown since 1992. The soils are a mix of clay and limestone where he primarily grows Merlot but also has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. He only has 4 hectares of white grapes, most of which is Sauvignon Blanc.

He also talked about how the landscape of his part of Bordeaux has been changing in recent years due to urban sprawl. The number of producers has significantly dropped with only a few estates left, the majority of which are fairly small.

The Dinner Tasting:

Château La Tuilerie Bordeaux Rosé 2016 - This refreshing blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc has enough structure to enjoy with richer food but is also enjoyable to drink alone with its lingering red berry fruit finish.

Château La Tuilerie Bordeaux Blanc 2015 - Primarily made from Sauvignon Blanc with some Semilon and Muscadelle, this wine is fresh, citrusy aromatic with a pleasant weight and texture.

Château Freyneau Bordeaux Supérieur 2014 - This easy drinking blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is soft, red berry fruity and crowd friendly.

Château Freyneau Cuvée Traditionnelle Bordeaux Supérieur 2012 - This wine is chosen from the best tanks with a percentage aged in mostly neutral barrels for 16 months. This smooth blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec shows ripe dark plums and berries playing nicely with forest floor and cocoa through the dry, velvety finish.

Château Freyneau Cuvée Prestige Bordeaux Supérieur 2005 - This wine is only produced in exceptional years, it is sourced from the property's oldest vines and aged in new French oak barrels for a minimum of 16 months. Still surprisingly young after 12 years, this wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It is dry, rich, elegant and complex with blackberry, plum, chocolate and tobacco mingling through the smooth, lingering finish.

All of these wines are recommended.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

Lunch at Cépage paired with Paso Robles Sparkling Wine

Cépage is the elegant new restaurant inside of the recently refurbished Paris Valley Road Estate & Winery Tasting Room. Cépage opened in 2022 and currently serves lunch and weekend brunch. Paris Valley Estate is a fairly new brand that is named after the two lane road in Monterey County where the owners, the Stoller family, planted their first vineyard over 20 years ago. The new name inspired them to renovate the former Arciero Winery in the opulent style of French Grand Cru domaines they had previously visited, explained winemaker, Doug Hidinger. I was visiting on a rainy day so I did not get to tour the grounds or take many outside pictures, unfortunately. The table was set and ready upon arrival. Hidinger was at lunch to present both the Paris Valley Road Sparkling Wine 2019 and the Sextant Edna Valley Sparkling Wine 2012 from a sister property of Paris Valley Road. Owner/Winemaker of Vino Vargas , Pedro Vargas, was also there to present his three sparkling wines. All of these

Tasting Collavini

On a recent zoom tasting with Collavini owner, Luigi Collavini, I was able to taste six of the top selling wines from the Eugenio Collavini collection. Collavini winery is located in Corno di Rosazzo in the Collio DOC appellation, this area is a highly regarded part of Friuli. The winery is near the border with Slovenia is the area where the hillside slopes become steeper and the cooling Bora wind helps maintain the grapes natural acidity.  Luigi Collavini shared that the mountains were still white with snow and the shimmering sea could be seen below the flatlands. The winery is located 50 kilometers from the mountains and 30 kilometers from the sea so both influence the winery’s terroir. He stated that the cold north winds give the wines freshness and accent the minerality while the warm winds from the south increase the size of the grapes and the volume of wine produced as well as the grapes’ sugar level and, therefore, alcohol content.  The history of the land begins millions of yea