Back to Blaye Rouge - 2022
Château Frédignac
- Region
- France » Bordeaux » Côtes de Blaye AOC
- Type
- red still, dry
- Producer
- Château Frédignac
- Vintage
- 2022
- Grapes
- Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
- Alcohol
- 13.5
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- not available
Back to Blaye, a superb organic and natural red Bordeaux vintage, has everything to seduce you: it once again reflects the excellence of organic wines produced on Bordeaux soils. You will first admire the beautiful deep carmine color before perceiving the Blaye-Côtes-de-Bordeaux signature on the nose: black fruits, red fruits, exemplary vinosity, a gourmet roundness underpinned by tannins that are still a little rustic due to the youth of the wine. Bordeaux, as you know, generally have to be waited for, and the fact that the wine is organic and natural changes nothing. You will therefore be right if you decide to keep this bottle for a few years, it will benefit from it and acquire velvety and smoothness. The wine needs to age a little in the bottle, but you can enjoy it now and accompany it with red meats, roasts, and solid dishes. Obtained from a majority of Merlot (90%) and Cabernet Sauvignon as a minority grape variety (10%), Back to Blaye is categorized as Vin de France but has nothing to envy its congeners more rewarded by their appellation. The harvest is destemmed, the maceration in vat is fifteen days. The aging after pressing and blending is six months in concrete vats. Advice: take advantage of the youth of this vintage to buy several bottles that will age with distinction in your cellar.
Château Frédignac, a 100% organic farm (Nature & Progrès), is located in the Blaye-Côtes-de-Bordeaux appellation, very close to the small town of Blaye, practically on the edge of the Gironde. Founded in 1918 by Jean-Marie L'Amouller, a Breton sailor who found happiness on the right bank of the estuary — which is called "the River" here — it became a quality wine estate a few years later by absorbing the vineyard of a property with a centuries-old reputation, Château Saugeron. The appellation is best known for its velvety and deep red wines, in which Château Frédignac excels. But the achievements of this wine estate dedicated to respecting the terroir and virtuous agricultural practices do not end there: an organic white is produced, as well as several natural vintages of various colors, from pet'nat'rosé to still red. The red grape varieties are typical of the appellation — the two Cabernets, Franc and Sauvignon; Merlot, Carménère and Côt (Malbec) — and the whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon) are similar. The clay-limestone soils promote both soil drainage and their beneficial freshness for the vines. Combined with methods that are deeply respectful of the soil, plants, animals and winemaking, these pedological conditions allow the Château Frédignac team to be proud of its wines: as worthy of their local tradition as they are in keeping with the desire to work as close as possible to nature.
— Culinaries
Ratings
Maybe it was a bad time to taste this wine, but I found little joy in the process. So intense yet so narrow—there is no depth and no complexity. A table wine with lots of black fruits, leather, dark olives, and dried berries. It sounds promising, but the execution is lacking. In the end, it's a powerful wine that lacks freshness and fruit, making it hard to drink solo.