Bordeaux, Château Chauvin, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, FR, 2018

88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon

93pts Decanter
This is gorgeous, plump fruit, beautifully controlled in feel, elegant and silky but gourmet and easy to love. This is a great wine and one of the best Chauvins I've tasted young. Underlines that for me 2018 is a great vintage in St Emilion, certainly for medium-term drinking, but I would feel pretty confident this will go the long haul, and it has seriously improved over ageing to this point.

The vineyard is located to the north-east of Saint-Emilion, near Pomerol, half-way between Cheval-Blanc and La Cote Roi. The 37 acres are planted with 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernent Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The soil of the estate is sandy while the subsoil is characterised by the presence of clay and iron.

We have been in partnership with BIOVITIS since 1994. Half of the vineyard is ploughed mechanically, while the other half is cultivated with grass-cover between the rows. Green harvesting is carried out throughout the vegetation cycle, to bring yields to 35 to 40 Hl/Ha.

At Chauvin the wine is made in the traditional way, while also making the most of what modernity has to offer: nothing is done systematically and each year every effort is focused on adapting the techniques to the qualities of that year's grapes.