Description
The Grand Village wine estate is selectively planted – only a little over a third of the land is planted to vine. Other parcels provide the ideal soil and biodiversity for nurseries – where massale selection cuttings from Lafleur are cultivated. The rest produces cereal crops, serves as grazing for cattle or left as woodland. It is viticulture in harmony with agriculture and nature – nothing is forced.
The 17.8 hectares which are suited to viticulture have exceptional clay and chalk soil, and are planted to Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. The Guinaudeau family is set to produce classy, elegant and deeply mineral wines – evoking both the clay topsoil and the limestone deep below the ground. By expressing the terroir so elegantly, they aim to raise Le Grand Village’s status from Bordeaux Supérieur to Grand Cru.
Tasting notes
Increasingly replanted or grafted over to vine genetics from Lafleur, and lavished with the same viticultural attention to detail, this estate is fast becoming a loss-making (but in many respects enriching) venture for the Guinaudeau family. Offering up aromas of cherries, wild berries, petals and sweet spices, the 2019 Grand Village is medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a long, mineral finish. It’s a brilliant wine that makes a mockery of the traditional appellation hierarchy. [93 Points, William Kelley – April 2022, robertparker.com]
