BRIO DE CANTENAC BROWN

Charming, delicate and brilliant, a pleasurable wine for sharing. It can be enjoyed young, but will improve when kept for a few years.

2015 VINTAGE

varietals

47% Cabernet Sauvignon

42% Merlot

11% Cabernet Franc

aging

1 year in French oak barrels

25% new oak barrels 75% one-year-old oak barrels

harvest proportion

49% BriO of Cantenac Brown

harvest date

Merlot : Septembre 17th - 24th Cabernet Franc : September 29th Cabernet Sauvg : Sept. 28th - Oct. 8th

the harvest

The grapes are healthy and the maturity level is on point.

Now it’s time to choose the best harvest date; not too early, not too late and not too ripe.

We decided to harvest grapes when they would develop «red berry» flavors not «black berry» ones. Tannins had to be nicely ripe, alcohol content needed to be balanced, not too high, and acidity was to be tasted but not too high. While it seems obvious, we realize our luck to be able to pick the fruit at its perfect maturity, with no restraint.

Beginning in the spring, temperatures were warmer than average. At the end of May, flowering was fast and homogeneous. In June and July, the warm temperatures led to a slow growing season, which stopped early. Conditions were similar to those in the best vintages.

In August, rains were on time to complete the “véraison” that had started by the end of July. In September, the difference of temperatures between cool nights and warm days, with the addition of brief rains helped reach a perfect ripening. 2015 was a bright and cool year with perfect weather conditions, giving our wines wide aromatic potential, with fine and round tannins.

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