Tour de France: Cabernet Blend, Haut-Médoc, Château Aney, Bordeaux, France, 2009

This left-bank Château Aney is situated strategically between St-Julien and Margaux, at the epicenter of the great wines of the region where the terroir imparts exceptional quality and provides ideal growing conditions. The warm summer sun is tempered by the cool breezes of the Garonne, and round, polished, gravelly, river stones cover the vineyard.  The final blend of the wine matches the proportions in which they are planted throughout the seventy-four acres of vineyards: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. This traditional Haut Médoc is more like what you might remember of the classic Bordeaux styles of the 1960s and 1970s. This wine is NOT at all cloaked in new wood or over-extracted tannins, Château Aney’s wines have finesse and balance!

• SUCCULENT
• Black Cherry
• Plum
• Blackberry
• Dusty Black pepper
• Tobacco Leaf
• Subtle Earthy Finish

Château Aney was built in 1850 by the family that gave it its name, just five years before the wine classification system was initiated in Bordeaux, where the domaine earned "Cru Bourgeois" status.  By the mid-twentieth century the land was no longer being farmed and the Château had fallen into disrepair. Then in 1972 Jean Raimond and his son, Pierre, bought the property, rehabilitated the vineyards, and refurbished the winery and cellars bringing it back, more glorious than ever. This new era for Château Aney also achieved "Cru Bourgeois" status in 1978. Which we can read this as showing just how accurate this classification system is, or does it illustrate just how resistant to change the French wine community can be.  You should taste the wine and decide...