Château Cap de Merle Lussac Saint-Emilion 2020

In the spring of 1966, Roland Bel bought Château Cap de Merle, which at the time included a vineyard of 3 hectares. Today, the estate is run by his two sons, Alain and Jean-Marie, and the vineyards spread over 25 hectares. The farming practices are sustainable (meaning as close to organic as possible). Each vine has a fifty-year lifespan, and thus it is of utmost importance to protect its health for the long term. The vineyard is continuously monitored to ensure that enemies, such as parasites or fungi, are kept to a non-threatening level below threat.  

This 2020 Cap de Merle is made of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon – the vines average 25 years old. The vineyards are on a plateau in the commune of Lussac Saint-Emilion, 5 miles north-east of the town of Saint-Emilion. Their excellent exposure ensures optimal ripeness of fruit and supple tannins. They enjoy an Atlantic climate, with humid winters, and warm, dry springs and summers. The soil is silt and sand, with a subsoil of clay mixed with traces of iron-oxide. The Merlot is harvested first, usually mid-September, followed by the Cabernet-Sauvignon late September. 

For winemaking, they do a 2 day cold maceration for 10% of the volume, and then 3 weeks of maceration and fermentation, with indigenous yeasts. Aging in stainless steel tanks for 18 months, under a blanket of inert gas. The wine is assembled the February after the harvest and bottled in January.