2011 Château La Marzelle
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé
“A deep ruby/purple color is followed by attractive red and black fruit notes intermixed with flower, soil and barrique undertones. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity, freshness, vibrancy as well as a surprisingly textured, heady finish, it should drink well for a decade or more.”
The origin
- Vineyard
- 11.24 ha of adjoining land
- Grape varieties
- 70% Merlot- 20% Cabernet franc- 10% Cabernet sauvignon
- Density
- 5 700 plants/ha
- Âge moyen
- 26 years
- Production
- 55 000 bottles
- Situation
- Upper terrace of Saint-Emilion formbed by the former Isle riverbed
- Pruning
- Bordelaise method (2 canes per vine)
- Alcohol
- 13.5%
An excellent year for La Marzelle
A very warm and very dry vintage. The IPTs (Total Polyphenol Index) reached record levels at La Marzelle.
2011 will be remembered as a very mixed year. Spring was unusually dry. The vines at La Marzelle, however, did not suffer greatly from the lack of water and grew well.
Even though mildew was not an issue, we still had to be aware of the risk of powdery mildew developing. In keeping with our environmentally-friendly approach, these positive climatic conditions allowed us to treat the vineyard with exclusively organic products this year. Summer was more changeable with a July much cooler than the average thirty degrees (-1.8°C) and a much wetter August (+56 mm).
September was much kinder to us and gave us nice weather for the harvest period which took place between 9 and 23 September for the merlots and cabernet francs and on 5 October for the old cabernet sauvignons. This enabled us to retain the ten to fifteen-day advance on the previous year resulting from early bud burst.
La Marzelle 2011 combines the benefits of the two previous vintages. It is well-rounded and fleshy like the 2009, yet has the attractive acidity of the 2010 which will ensure good ageing potential.
Reviews
Allwines & Hska challenge 2016
“Lors du VIième concours pour les meilleurs Vins et Spiritueux pour l'Asie, organisé par Allwines & Hska, Château La Marzelle a reçu la médaille d'or pour son 2011 Château La Marzelle Saint Emilion. Le concours a eu lieu le 25 et 26 mars 2016 à Hong Kong.”
Allwines & Hksa challenge 2014
“Lors du VIième concours pour les meilleurs Vins et Spiritueux pour l'Asie, organisé par Allwines & Hska, Château La Marzelle a reçu la médaille d'argent pour son 2011 Château La Marzelle Saint Emilion. Le concours a eu lieu le 22 et 23 février 2014 à Hong Kong.”
La revue de vin de France
“Un éclat de fruit superbe dans ce millésime de la renaissance. On pourra l’apprécier assez jeune.”
Christer BYKLUM
“Ruby. Scented, blueberries, anise, spices, detailed, fresh and fruity. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fresh, fruity, anise, spices and blueberries, lovely balance, long.”
Jean-Marc Quarin
“Couleur sombre. Nez fruité, vanillé et mûr. Bouche douce, suave au goût fin, au corps moelleux, à la tanicité un brin présente en fin de bouche et plutôt aromatique en finale. Bonne longeur.”
Gault & Millau
“Proche de l'Hôtel Grand Barrail, sur la route du haut de Saint-Emilion sur la terrasse de Figeac, le terroir dévoile des notes fumées, d'humus, plus florales que fruitées. La souplesse en bouche est friande mais évolue rapidement sur des tanins francs mais sans excès qui demanderont à se polir.”
Robert Parker
“A deep ruby/purple color is followed by attractive red and black fruit notes intermixed with flower, soil and barrique undertones. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity, freshness, vibrancy as well as a surprisingly textured, heady finish, it should drink well for a decade or more.”
James Molesworth
“Offers a kirsch and plum sauce profile, with a noticable spine of chalk and lively acidity.”
Le guide hachette des vins
“Plus simple mais fort plaisant par sa rondeur, sa générosité et sa souplesse.”
Decanter World Wine Awards
“Decanter World Wine Awards : Commended”
