2017 Gerard Bertrand Languedoc 'An 462 - France

2017 Gérard Bertrand Heritage 462 Languedoc

Colour: dark red with purple reflections

Aroma: complex, aromatically fruit-driven bouquet of black and red berries

Taste: on the palate, multi-layered with aromas of ripe red fruits, gingerbread spices, liquorice and the typical hint of garrigue, broad with silky tannins, soft fullness and finesse, powerful and lively in the finish with good length and a fine aftertaste of roasted aromas and peppery spice

Serving suggestion: with grilled meat and poultry, spicy pasta dishes with tomatoes, braised aubergines and mature cheese

Winemaking: For Gérard Bertrand's Heritage 462, all grapes are hand-picked at optimum ripeness. Syrah, which ripens before Grenache, usually starts first. The grapes are immediately delivered to the winery and vinified separately by grape variety to express their typical varietal and origin character as purely as possible. The Syrah grapes are placed whole in the fermentation tanks, fermented by carbonic maceration within two weeks, and the temperatures are lowered shortly before the end of the fermentation period, so that fermentation is completed at low temperatures. In contrast, Bertrand completely destems the Grenache grapes and allows them to ferment on the skins for about three weeks. Depending on the tank and stage of development, pumping over and flooding the mash or pressing down and submerging the cap supports the maximum extraction of the varietal aromas, as well as the soft tannins that later give the wine its dense, silky structure. After complete alcoholic fermentation, a portion of the wines is aged for ten months in French 225l oak barriques, then blended back with the other batches to form the cuvée, and the wine is bottled after a light fining. The 'Terroir' Languedoc then rests in the bottle for several months and is only released for sale after this final maturation phase in the winery.