Château d’Aiguilhe, 2016 Update
A large property in Castillon, Château d’Aiguilhe is only partly planted to vines. During the 18th century there was 400 hectares of land to this estate, although today Stephan von Neipperg has a little over a quarter of this, at 110 hectares, of which 50 hectares are planted to the vine. It is a figurehead appellation for the Côtes de Bordeaux Castillon appellation, producing wines of both quality and value.
In recent years Stephan has also dipped his toe into the increasingly interesting world of Bordeaux white at Château d’Aiguilhe, with the release in the 2015 vintage of Le Blanc d’Aiguilhe. This is sourced from just 0.35 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc vines, and so volumes are currently very limited. With a plan to graft another hectare of vines to white varieties during the course of 2016, however, we can expect to hear more of this wine in the future.
Four Vintages, 2015 to 2012
On this occasion, however, it was only the red wines I was looking at, to be precise a quartet of vintages from 2015 back to 2012. Leading the way is the 2015 vintage, a barrel sample which showed delicious potential for the future, and which reminded me very much of the 2010 vintage, with its finely packed tannins giving structure beneath the sweet fruit.
