Château Le Souley-Sainte Croix, Haut-Médoc, 2020

The eponymous cuvée of Château Souley-Sainte Croix is a very pleasant and elegant Haut-Médoc with a classic structure and soft tannins, it will delight wine lovers of the Médoc.

The 2019 vintage is one of the great vintages. A too mild winter balanced by a very cool spring then frost warnings from late March to mid-May that scared all the vineyards of Bordeaux, fortunately without damage. The flowering went smoothly but it was then necessary to face the great heat of the summer, which were miraculously balanced by heavy rains during this summer season. They gave the grapes the freshness and strength they need before they are harvested. These high temperatures are the reason for the success of the Cabernets for this 2019 vintage, they resist much better to the drought than their colleague the Merlot, and their quality is only better. As a result, the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Grands Vins on the right bank has steadily increased in recent years.

Planted on clay-limestone soils with Garonne gravel, the vines extend on a beautiful plateau of 20 hectares with a gravelly cut and well oriented in one piece. The other 5 hectares are spread over 3 plots. The wine is produced in the Haut-Médoc appellation, surrounded by famous neighbours such as Cos d'Estournel and Rothschild. Each plot has been planted separately according to the grape varieties so they can be harvested when each reaches maximum point of maturity care.

The vines, according to tradition, are low (heat of the sun and heat of the graves) with high density of plants at 8,333 feet/ha with the typical varieties of the médoc: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines and about 26 years.

A traditional winemaking with long vatting.

Aged for 12 months in barrels of which 1/3 are new barrels.