Château Simard 2012, Grand Cru Saint Emilion - Ausone Winemaker
£29.95 per bottle
ABV 13.0%
Why should you buy this wine?
Wine produced by Chateau Ausone owners
Chateau Ausone sells for £500+per bottle
Normally sells for £30 - £35 per bottle
From the excellent 2012 vintage
Best value St Emilion you can buy
Has won a number of awards
Tasting Notes
The 2012 Simard offers good complexity to match its pleasant, mid-weight personality. Sweet red stone fruits, tobacco and flowers are all nicely lifted throughout. The 35% Cabernet Franc, which is high for this wine, is felt in the slightly vegetal notes that lurk beneath. Drink this tasty Saint-Emilion over the next handful of years.
Producer
Château Haut-Simard and Château Simard have been under control of Alain & Pauline Vauthier, of Chateau Ausone fame, since 2008, when his uncle, Claude “Coco” Mazière, passed away. The Châteaux have been in the family since 1954. Both Chateaux are directly adjacent to one another, separated by a railway line, and the fruit is vinified in the same cellars, by the same team.
Château Simard is a 40-hectare (98.84-acre) vineyard marked by predominantly clay soil mixed with sand and gravel, and a deep water table, forcing the vines to grow far into the ground. Vines have an average age of 35 years old.
The 2012 is 65% Merlot & 35% Cabernet Franc, and has been vinified and aged for eighteen months in concrete vats. 150,000 bottles of this cuvée were produced.
Food
Ideal with roasted game served with wild rice and stuffing or prime rib steak.
Region
There are three distinct `terroirs` of St Emilion; limestone on the raised vineyard areas, clay more predominant on the slopes and gravel and clay combined on the plateau. This provides a diversity within the region as different sites support either Cabernet Franc or Merlot in general and can relay a distinct mineral character to the wine.
