Lot presentation

M2 Chapoutier Rolland (no reserve) 2005

The wine

This cuvée is a Pomerol "Hermitagé", conceived and vinified in the tradition of "Bordeaux Hermitagés" that were produced in the 19th century This blending technique was developed to give Bordeaux's wines the body and power that they sometimes lack. The wine is made from an unusual combination of two varieties: 50% Merlot from Château Le Bon Pasteur's vines in Pomerol; located in the north-east of the Pomerol appellation near Maillet, the vineyard has two main types of soil (gravel and clay, and then a second lighter soil on deep gravel beds); and 50% Syrah grown on the Hermitage Ermite's exceptional terroir (located at the top of the Hermitage hill, around the chapel, in the locality known as Ermite, with 80-year old vines on very poor, granitic soil). Very late manual harvests for both wines. The harvest is 100% destemmed and vinified in a concrete vat. Maceration lasts between 5 and 6 weeks. After maceration and malolactic fermentation, the wine is immediately transferred to new oak barrels for 14 to 18 months and stored in the cellar of Maison Chapoutier. The wine is considered superb and has potential to be kept for decades. It would pair perfectly with cured meats.