Château Les Grandes Murailles 2015

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for Château Les Grandes Murailles 2015

Tasting

Appearance

The color displays a deep garnet hue with purple highlights, reflecting the wine’s concentration and youthful character.

Nose

The bouquet reveals fine aromatic complexity, with notes of black cherry and ripe red fruits. Earthy nuances reminiscent of moss and humus mingle with floral touches of violet and anise. With aeration, aromas of toasted almonds and black-fruit crumble further enrich the overall profile.

Palate

On the palate, the wine charms with its ripe fruit character and juicy texture. Flavors of black cherry, raspberry coulis, and blackcurrant rest on a fine, elegant tannic frame. Precise acidity brings freshness and definition, while the finish lingers with persistent notes of anise, violet, and black tea, revealing lovely limestone minerality.

Food and Wine Pairings

This wine pairs harmoniously with an herb-crusted rack of lamb, a baker’s-style lamb shoulder, or a seven-hour leg of lamb. It also elegantly accompanies duck breast with figs, roasted poularde, or beef Rossini. Game preparations, especially venison, as well as a risotto with Périgord black truffle, also make excellent pairings. For cheeses, opt for an aged Comté or a Saint-Nectaire.

Serving and Cellaring

Château Les Grandes Murailles 2015 can be enjoyed now after one to two hours of aeration. This wine can be tasted through around 2035, during which time it will continue to evolve and develop its aromatic complexity.

A Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé of Remarkable Elegance

The Estate

In Saint-Émilion, Château Les Grandes Murailles stands out for its exceptionally rare 2-hectare vineyard, enclosed by walls and planted 100% to Merlot on clay-limestone soils, at the foot of a medieval remnant of a 12th-century Dominican convent. Long managed by the Reiffers family since the 17th century, it now belongs to the Cuvelier family, who also own Clos Fourtet.

The Vineyard

The vineyard of Château Les Grandes Murailles spans just two hectares at the heart of the Saint-Émilion appellation. The vines, averaging around 25 years of age, are planted on clay-limestone soils resting on a limestone plateau. This distinctive geological composition gives the wine its hallmark minerality and outstanding aging potential. The terroir benefits from favorable exposure and day-to-night temperature variations that encourage optimal ripening of Merlot, the estate’s sole grape variety.

The Vintage

The 2015 vintage ranks among the decade’s most successful in Bordeaux. After a relatively cool early spring, April proved particularly warm, enabling rapid budburst. Flowering took place under ideal conditions in early June, followed by uniform fruit set. July and August were marked by high temperatures and controlled water stress, focusing the vine’s energy on grape ripening. Timely rainfall in early June and in August, followed by dry conditions through harvest, yielded fruit of exceptional quality, combining concentration, phenolic ripeness, and aromatic freshness.

Vinification and Aging

The Château Les Grandes Murailles 2015 harvest is carried out by hand, with rigorous bunch selection. Vinification takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, allowing precise management of fermentation temperatures. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in barrels, promoting the integration of oak components. The wine is then aged for 18 to 20 months in new French oak barrels. The cellars, fitted out in former limestone quarries beneath the vineyard, provide naturally optimal conditions of temperature and humidity.

Grape Variety

100% Merlot