Château Martet - Réserve de Famille 2015
An old wine estate, which acquired its letters of nobility thanks to the work and passion of one man.
Located in the commune of Eynesse, in the Saint-Emilion region, the vineyard of Château Martet extends over 33 hectares in the Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux AOC, on the slopes bordering the Dordogne. Rich soils, clay-limestone and clay-limestone iron gravel on the heights, allow the vines to flourish. A temperate climate with a continental trend favours the full maturity of the grapes. This estate offers an exceptional heritage with a relationship to the vine and to people dating back to Roman times. Indeed, Château Martet was built in the 13th century and then used as a hospice by the Templar order for pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela.
Today, the estate produces wines that are on a par with the greatest wines of Saint-Emilion. Such a reputation has been achieved thanks to the work started in 1991 by Patrick de Coninck, who acquired the property that year with his friend Albert Michiels. As the owner of one of the oldest and most important Belgian wine merchants, Patrick de Coninck immediately had the ambitious project of restoring the vineyard and the property to their former glory. From 1993 to 2006, a restructuring of the vineyard was undertaken. Amongst the major works, the uprooting of nearly 90% of the vineyard in order to replant an optimal grape variety, adapted to the properties of this unique terroir: the Merlot.
For its part, the viticulture was adapted to the terroir: cordon de Royat pruning, spring disbudding, green harvesting and weighted leaf removal in July, harvesting in staggered stages, taking into account the ripeness of each parcel, all efforts that enabled Château Martet to obtain a fully ripe harvest with great potential.
Since 1992, the vat room and cellars have also been redesigned, modernised and cleaned up. Since then, as vinification techniques have evolved, with a view to constantly seeking quality, the containers and equipment used have been regularly adapted. Installation of a pneumatic press allowing precise pressings, mastery of temperature control, stainless steel containers for the white wines in order to favour fruit and freshness, numerous vats of different capacities, from 45 to 130 hl, for the red wines in order to individually mature the wines coming from the different parcels. The barrel cellar dates from 2003. Designed for efficient work, it houses 600 new oak barrels each year.
All this in-depth work, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, has been carried out in close collaboration with Louis Mitjavile, who has been trusted by Patrick de Coninck since 1998. Louis Mitjavile, son of the very charismatic François Mitjavile, owner of the famous Château Tertre Roteboeuf, has a real devotion for Merlot and has made it his speciality.
His advice on viticulture and oenology, combined with the efforts of Patrick de Coninck, quickly produced a great Bordeaux wine, a true reference: La Réserve de Famille, which we will discover today.
Convinced that the understanding and respect of all these elements are the keys to a blossoming and qualitative production, Patrick de Coninck and Louis Mitjavile, quickly decided to register the domain in an approach of respect for the environment.
The terroir is composed of all the factors of the ecosystem around a region or a product: the vineyard and therefore the soil, the subsoil, the climate, the topography, the biodiversity and of course the hard work of the workers.
Château Martet is ideally situated in the heart of a rich natural heritage and abundant biodiversity. It was only natural to want to preserve these precious ecosystems and that is why they have adapted their techniques and production methods.
No more pesticides or chemical fertilisers are used on the estate today. A reasoned work of the soils comes to support these steps in order to support the micro bacteriological biodiversity of the soils. The vineyard is thus home to a complete ecosystem where all the different players (large and small) of the fauna and flora play their full role.
The year 2016 at Château Martet was marked by the death of Patrick de Coninck.
Today, his children have taken over the reins of the estate and are continuing the work begun by their father with the same philosophy: the love of a terroir and the work of passionate people.
Among the five great wines that Château Martet offers today, we are going to focus on a true reference of the Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux appellation: La Réserve de Famille. A top-of-the-range wine, with a sensual smoothness and a great suppleness in the mouth, it has largely contributed to the reputation of the estate. More than half of the vineyard (17 hectares planted with Merlot) is devoted to it.
"A beautiful red colour with purple tints. A powerful and rich nose with notes of black fruits, prunes and truffles with an elegant woody flavour coming from the eighteen years of barrel ageing. On the palate, this 2015 vintage is warm, structured, powerful and greedy at the same time, highlighting the Merlot grape variety and its notes of forest fruits.
A well-balanced wine, already a pleasure to drink, which offers a potential for ageing of around ten years, which will allow it to reach a perfect balance for red meat, game or dishes in sauce."
CHÂTEAU MARTET - Réserve de Famille - Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux AOP - Vintage 2015 - Available in 75 cl bottle and 150 cl magnum
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