Chateau Haut-Peyrous, Rouge. 2009 Vintage now available

Hard work in the vineyard at Chateau Haut Peyrous in 2014 now leads to work in the cellar.

While vintage 2014 is almost complete at Chateau-Haut Peyrous in Graves, DiscoverVin are excited about the arrival of the 2009 vintage on Australian shores.

The 2009 Chateau Haut-Peyrous rouge, Retours de Palombières is available on line for $39.90.

 

2009 was a great year in Bordeaux and the red wine, Retours de Palombières from Chateau Haut-Peyrous is a great example of this vintage.

Chateau Haut-Peyrous is a biodynamic and organic producer, with all work since 2008 carried out in accordance with organic production criteria.  The soil is worked mechanically with grass left to grow between rows to encourage microbial activity.

Retours de Palombières is Merlot based (65%)  with Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and small amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec.

DiscoverVin have sold out of

2008 but now have 2009 in stock

On opening,  immediate complexity on the nose is evident with red fruits and violets. Great mouth feel.  It is round, complex and gorgeous. The tannins are restrained, but add structure. It has lovely minerals and the spice typical of good Graves red wine.

Rich and soft now we think the wine will continue to improve with cellaring for the next two to five years.

Wine Enthusiast Reviewer, Roger Voss, described the 2009 wine as "A powerful yet youthful wine.  It balances blackberry fruit character with smoky tannins and delicious , bright and juicy acidity."

Bloggers and Wine Writers Admire Chateau Haut Peyrous Rouge

DiscoverVin have had three recent reviews by Australian wine bloggers.  

Chateau Haut Peyrous-Retour de Palombières  Rouge 2008 from Graves in Bordeaux has received positive accolades from three popular writers.

 

Jesse Lewis from Perth writes about music, photography and "booze" including wine in his blog  Sealed with Wax.

Companion to the Graves Blanc reviewed last week. 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Cabernet Franc. Those figures must be rounded up because there’s a tiny amount of Malbec and Petit Verdot as well.

Laid back and confident, it sports aromas of red plum, pencil shavings, redcurrant jelly and a light touch of gravy/meat juices. Again, restrained on the palate. This is not overripe or a concentrated wine. Not lacking in flavour either. There’s a minerality which leans towards ironstone and a coffee & tobacco-like finish that’s structured with enough tannins to support short-mid term cellaring.

Just what I felt like drinking tonight – nothing too bold or weak. A solid mid-weight red.

Very Good / 89 points

Closure: Cork

Source: Sample

Price: $38.50

Sean Mitchell writes independent wine reviews on his blog The Grape Observer.

Image from The Grape Observer

Chateau Haut-Peyrous is a blend of 65% merlot, 20% cabernet sauvignon and 15% cabernet franc rounded out with dashes of petit verdot and malbec.  It presents as a classic left bank style of Bordeaux, with aromatics of cedar, cigar box and tobacco.  Dry and balanced, the palate initially showed a firm, almost minerally acid line, and settled to nuanced expressions of red and black fruits, tobacco and cigar box.  This is a well made Graves wine with a medium to long finish that will reward drinking now, and over the next five years.  Good

Abv: 13%
Price: $38.50
Source: sample
Vendors: Check http://www.discovervin.com.au/
Website: http://vinsdegraves.com/chateau/château-haut-peyrous
Tasted: 2013

1st July

Gary Walsh writes for the independent review site The Wine Front.

Posted on 03 July 2013.

Merlot (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (15%) and small amount Petit Verdot and Malbec. Importer: DiscoverVin

Malty and meaty, plum and redcurrant, some earth and cedar. Medium bodied, gravelly and earthy with well rounded tannin, though they’re on the edge of being too drying for the volume of fruit. Glassy acidity on the finish. Pretty good.  

A pigeonnier - Retour de Palombiéres

Rated : 89 Points
Tasted : Jul13
Alcohol : 13%
Price : $38
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2013 - 2016+

Retour de Palombières refers to pigeons returning to the vineyard.  Many vineyards in Graves will have pigeonniers built in the middle of the vineyards.  The pigeons return here and help fertilize the vineyard and prey on insects.

Château Haut Peyrous – A Darroze Estate in Graves

DiscoverVin is proud to be importing wine from Château Haut Peyrous in the Graves appellation of Bordeaux.  While not a classified producer, Château Haut Peyrous exemplifies Bordeaux’s new generation. Producers adopting new techniques, including organic practices and working with their terroir to produce quality value for money wines.  Marc Darroze, of the famous Darroze family of Gascony owns Château Haut Peyrous and has been driving the changes to make these unique wines.

For three generations the Darroze family have lived in the area and have been known for their Armagnac.  Marc’s sister Helene Darroze boasts two Michelin rosettes at her wonderful restaurant in the Connaught Hotel, London, along with award winning restaurants in Paris and Moscow.

Marc has worked with his father producing Armagnac and recently diversified into his own wine estate, Château Haut Peyrous. Organic practices in the vineyard are producing wines with lots of personality, by making the most of the quality of the terroir on his estate.  Since June 2008, all work on the estate has been carried out in accordance with organic production criteria.  Wines from the 2012 vintage will be certified as organic.  The soil is worked mechanically, and the grass grows between rows to enable humus to develop and encourage intense microbial activity in the soils. Similar projects are cropping up across Bordeaux and the south-west of France with a new generation of wine-makers introducing modern production methods to properties on proven terroir.

When we first tasted the wines of Haut Peyrous, the quality and value blew us away.  The white wine being simply delicious and a great example of just what can be achieved in the white wines of Bordeaux.

The red wine was smooth and restrained, but opening a bottle recently from the 2008 vintage, has revealed a new level of flavour and complexity with the passage of time.

Mary Harrington from DiscoverVin says, “Marc Darroze is producing great wines. We are delighted that everyday wine lovers in Australia now have the opportunity to enjoy authentic French flavour and impressive quality, together with value for money.”

The Darroze wines in the DiscoverVin portfolio are:

Château Haut Peyrous-Pêche au Carrelet-Graves Blanc, 2010

RRP $46.20 (online)

The square shaped net (carrelet) that the fisherman has just hauled out of the Garonne is teeming with shad, lamprey and eels …tasty fish, which need to be cooked slowly and gently.  Fish like this need complex and generous wines to pair with! 

Grapes:  Semillon (75%), Sauvignon Blanc (25%).

Alcohol: 13.0% VOL

Our Tasting notes:  Lively nose with spice and mineral notes and vanilla from the oak.  Lovely soft and round mouth feel.  Richness and complexity on the back palate and a lovely soft acid backbone.

ChâteauHaut Peyrous-Retour de Palombières-AOC Graves-Rouge, 2008

RRP $38.50 (online)

Palombieres (wild pigeons) return to the region each autumn in massive flocks which at times cover the skies, then roost in pine forests adjacent to the vineyard.

Grapes: Merlot (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (15%) and small amount Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Alcohol:  13.5 % VOL

Wine making:  The long maceration period without massive extraction brought finesse to the wine, while maturing in oak barrels for one year helped to refine the tannins and to make the wine more complex.  In 2009 new oak was used to emphasise the lovely fruit.

Our Tasting notes:  Immediate complexity in nose with red fruits, chocolate and violets.  Great mouth feel, round, complex and gorgeous.  Lovely weight and primary fruit with restrained and integrated tannins. Lovely minerals and spice of good Graves.