Chateau Lyonnat Lussac Saint Emilion 2015
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James - Decanter
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Lyonnat is full of character, medium to deep cherry red with an intense nose of marinated plums, black cherries and complex, secondary aromas. Medium to full bodied, with depth, structure, well-integrated oak, and a certain elegance that contrasts with the power of the wine, this strikes an excellent balance between fruit and tannin, and offers a long finish.
Blend: 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Consultant Hubert de Bouärd has given this wine a velvey texture as well as rich wood and spice flavors. The wine is generous, full bodied and dense with black fruits. The blend, with 90% Merlot, comes from one of the largest vineyards in Lussac. Drink this rich wine from 2020.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Château Lyonnat is a brilliant blend, aged 18 months in new barrels. It offers loads of chalky minerality to go with classic Merlot dark fruits, dried earth, and graphite aromas and flavors. This medium to full-bodied beauty is terrific today, yet I suspect it will keep for 15+ years.
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James Suckling
Orange-peel and floral aromas with a plum and berry character. Medium to full body, firm, silky tannins and a clean finish. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
Highly perfumed and packed with fresh scents of bright black cherries, floral and freesia notes and a touch of mint and liquorice. This has high energy and exuberance to it – a really enjoyable and pungent Lussac.
Other Vintages
2010-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James
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Enthusiast
Wine
In the vineyard, the grape variety takes into account the cold character of the soil. Merlot now dominates with 90% of the vines, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc have been lowered to 10% to produce pressed rosé wines.
In the cellar, Chateau Lyonnat has not succumbed, like many other areas, to "all stainless": on the contrary, they chose to keep all its custom-made concrete tanks, which help the winemaker achieve a distinct style.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.