Les Asteries

This Single Vineyard wine is made from a single hectare on 'Astéries' (rock limestone) soil between Chateau Fonroque and Clos Fourtet. The vines survived the frost of 1956 and are up to eighty years old. 'Panachéed' in the old style (Merlot interspersed with Cabernet Franc to ensure easy blending in the days before pumps) they are cropped down to four bunches per vine to reflect the 'terroir' of the parcel.

Unlike most of the wines of the Chateau, Les Astéries exhibits a strain of minerality that emphasises the rock like sub-soil. The wine is pure vineyard rather than a 'winemaker's' wine. Huge colour, high extraction of black fruits, totally hedonistic palate but almost Saint-Estèphe grip on the finish, fresh and very, very long.