Château Haut Grela
AOC Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux
This property of 11 hectares is run by Dominique Raimond. It is located in the village of Saint-Paul-de-Blaye in the heart of the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux AOC on hillsides South and South-East exposed. Château Haut Grela has been conducted in organic farming since 2018.
TERROIR
Appellation
In front of the Medoc’s Grand Crus, just across the Gironde estuary, the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux AOC is the home of some of the best and oldest Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec of the entire region, with a similar terroir as Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, the wonderful clay and limestone soil. But the wines of Blaye are accessible at a lower price, the best quality/price ratio in the Bordeaux area.
Climate & geology
Wind, warm summers and mild winters, the vines grow on a limestone basement, covered by gravel and sandy stone. The wines pick up a nervy minerality and intensity of flavor from the poor, depleted soils.
Varietals
95% Merlot
5% Cabernet Sauvignon
WINEMAKING & VINIFICATION
The natural grass is kept between the rows and the ground under the vine-plants is worked mechanically to galvanize the microbial life and push the roots to go deeper. The property is also certified HEV 3rd level (High Environmental Value, the highest level of French environmental certification for farms).
The harvest is picked thank to a machine with latest technologies to bring in the vat house only intact berries perfectly ripe, without stem, leave or wood. Then it is vinified in concrete tanks at low temperatures and not too much pumping-over to preserve fruits and obtain a silky wine. The wine is aged in tanks with micro-oxygenation to preserve and reveal all the fruity aromas.
TASTING NOTES
An intense garnet color, an as just intense nose of black (ripe) and red fruit (black-currant, gooseberry) with a hint of vanilla aromas, a round mouth with a lot of sweetness supported by silky tannins : Château Haut Grela is a balanced wine where everything has been thought through in an environmental approach, from fruit to glass!
The Château Haut Grela has been awarded by a Concours International de Lyon’s gold medal.