Château Gloria, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, 2016

Viticulture

Henri Martin’s lifetime achievement was no doubt the creation of Château Gloria. Row by row of vines, parcel by parcel, he patiently and systematically negotiated with his owner friends in the commune of Saint-Julien to buy these various “cru classé” parcels superbly situated on Günzian gravel, which were to eventually make up the Château Gloria estate.

Winemaking

Gloria underwent extensive modernisation in 1991. The winery was entirely renovated and equipped with a conveyor belt from the grape hopper, an ultra-modern destemmer that keeps the grapes whole, new glazed stainless steel temperature-controlled vats, and a system for concentrating the wine by evaporating it in a vacuum. A second ageing cellar was built in 2000, bringing the total capacity up to 2,000 barrels. The wine is aged 45% in new oak barrels for 12 months, with racking every three months. The estate works with 7 coopers; who provide medium-toasted American and French oak barrels.

Oak Ageing

Time: 14 months
Type: French
% wine oaked: 100
% new oak: 40

Tasting Note

A beautiful deep maroon colour, Lovely, jammy big blackcurrant fruit. There is an energy on the mid-palate and it finishes with silky fruit and grippy tannins.

Food Matching

The traditional partner to roast beef and hearty meat dishes in generalo.