Chateau Croizet Bages 2010, Pauillac (1x75cl)

Château Croizet-Bages is a wine estate located on the Left Bank in Pauillac, rated a fifth growth in the 1855 Classification of Médoc and Graves. Its grand vin is based on the classic Bordeaux blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon in the starring role. The estate is located near the fellow Fifth Growths Château Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy-Lacoste on a 30-hectare (74-acre) site. The vineyard soils are composed of gravel and sand, and are planted to 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 32 percent Merlot, and eight percent Cabernet Franc. The vines are on average 35 years old. Harvest at the estate is done by hand and machine. Grapes are vinified in traditional cement vats and go through malolactic fermentation in tank. Croizet-Bages is aged in 25 percent new French oak for one year. Croizet-Bages was established by the Croizet brothers in the first half of the 18th Century and changed hands multiple times before being purchased by its current owners, the Quié family – also owners of Château Rauzan-Gassies and Château Bel Orme Tronquoy de Lalande – in 1942. Croizet-Bages produces a second wine called La Tourelle de Croizet-Bages, first released in 1998, and a negociant wine called La Chartreuse du Croizet-Bages. The estate produces around 12,500 cases of wine annually.