Friday 22 July 2016

Château du Chatelard Cuvée Les Vieilles Vignes


It’s summer so, for me, it’s Beaujolais time. With the hot weather I prefer lighter wines with fruity berry flavors.  This time it’s the Chateau du Chatelard Cuvee Les Vielles Vignes.  This wine is from old vines and aged in concrete tanks for 4 months according to the LCBO website.  Lacking a wine fridge, I chilled the wine in a regular refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes just before drinking.



Wine:  Chateau de Charteland Cuvee Les Vielles Vigne Beaujolais-Village 2014
Location: France
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Sugar content: 5g/L
Price: $17.95
Vintages number: 445320

As advertised, this medium-bodied wine has the strong strawberry and cherry flavors I like in wines made with Gamay grapes. This wine is smooth with a clean finish.

This wine compares very favourably to my standby Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages. The Charteland is probably more complex and may be preferred by connoisseurs but I give the edge to the Duboeuf because of the slightly stronger berry flavors. It is close but the Duboeuf is also $4 less a bottle which erases any doubt for me. All things considered, this is a fantastic Beaujolais-Villages and I will gladly drink it again. 

Recommendation:    Uncork
Rating:                     9.0 out of 10