Château Marjosse : Anthologie de Marjosse Cuvée Ortolan 2018

A Rich and Melodious Chardonnay by Pierre Lurton

The property
Built in 1782, Château Marjosse is located in Entre-deux-Mers on the right bank of Bordeaux. Initially owned by the wine merchant Bernard Chénier, Château Marjosse was acquired by the Deleuze family, who in 1990 ceded a few plots for rent to Pierre Lurton. In 1992 Pierre Lurton, who grew up in Château Reynier, right next to this magnificent Chartreuse, moved into a second home at Château Marjosse and over the years successively purchased several rooms from the Deleuze family. In 2000, Pierre Lurton constructed an ultramodern cellar containing more than 40 cement vats, and in 2013 he became the sole owner of the entire vineyard, as well as the Chartreuse.

The vineyard
Spanning 40 hectares, the Château Marjosse vineyard is planted in exceptional clay-limestone soils. Home to both young and old vines, some of which are centuries old, the vineyard is planted with several grape varieties, including Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, used to produce the Château Marjosse red wine. The vineyard dedicated to the production of the white wine of Marjosse covers 12 hectares, and is home to vines aged 25 to 75 years.

The wine
The Anthologie Cuvée Ortolan bottling of Château Marjosse is part of the sub-brand "Anthologie", a new venture by Pierre Lurton aimed at producing exciting single-vineyard expressions of estate's magnificent terroir. In 2017, Lurton and his newly hired winemaker Jean-Marc Domme created their very first micro-vinifications of small-batch wines from carefully selected parcels of the property. 2018 was the first commercial vintage of these wines. The Cuvée Ortolan offers an elegant and fine expression of Cabernet Franc or Bouchet. This is a single-varietal wine made with Cabernet Franc, harvested from 25-year-old vines planted in clay-siliceous soils on limestone rock. The wine is aged for a period of 12 months in 50% demimuid barrels and 50% in concrete vats.

The blend
The Anthologie Cuvée Chardonneret 2018 by Château Marjosse is made from 100% Cabernet Franc.

The tasting
Colour
This wine displays a delicate, glittering garnet colour in the glass.
Nose
On the nose, this Cabernet Franc reveals delicate fruit aromas, especially redcurrants, wild strawberries and raspberries, along with touches of pepper.
Palate
This wine is quite elegant on the palate, offering silky tannins and fruit flavours, as well as floral nuances, such as iris.