Chateau Pavie Macquin St. Emilion 2006 750ml

Winery: Chateau Pavie Macquin

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

The Bordeaux method of blending quality grape varietals is something which has long been imitated and envied around the world. Whilst there are six Bordeaux grape varietals allowed for the production of red wine in this region of France – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Carménere – the most common and widely used combination involves a careful blend of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, usually with a small percentage of Petit Verdot to boost the overall flavor and balance things out. This process accentuates the finer points of all these varietals, and takes the astringency of one type whilst rounding it out and mellowing it with the light tannins and fleshiness of another. The results are rarely short of spectacular, and are perfect for oak aging, where the flavorful magic of Bordeaux wine making can really take place, and the complex aromas and characteristics can truly come forward.

Region: Bordeaux

The Bordeaux region of France is possibly the most famous and widely respected wine region in the world. Known primarily for its exceptional blended red wines, made most commonly with Cabernet Sauvigon, Merlot and Petit Verdot grape varietals, it also produces superb dry white wines (both blended and single variety), alongside the highly esteemed sweet wines of Sauternes. All of these wine types use a careful mix of traditional wine-making methods alongside modern techniques, as well as more experimental and unorthodox practices such as turning their grapes over to the noble rot which intensifies the flavors in the sweet wines. Bordeaux benefits greatly from its position amongst wide river basins, and the cooling Atlantic breezes which blow across the rolling vineyards which cover this region.

Country: France

French winemakers are subjected to several laws and regulations regarding the wines they produce, and how they can be labeled and sold. Such procedures are designed to increase the overall quality of the country's produce, and also to ensure that wines made in each particular region or appellation are of a character and type which is representative of the area. Thankfully for consumers of wine world-wide, the French have a particularly high reputation to uphold, and seem to do so flawlessly. Every year, wineries from all over France produce millions upon millions of bottles of fine wine, making the most of their native grape varieties and the excellent terrain which covers most of the country. From the expensive and exquisite red wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, to the white wines and cremants of central France, the French are dedicated to providing the world with wines of the highest quality and most distinctive character.

Appellation: Saint Emilion

The sub-region of Saint Emilion in France's beautiful and world renowned Bordeaux region is recognized across the globe by wine experts as one of the planet's premier wine producing areas. Saint Emilion is primarily associated with the production of high quality, characterful and flavorful blended red wines, and the blending techniques and methods used in the dozens of chateaus of the region have been passed down through the generations to maintain the reputation and popularity Saint Emilion enjoys. Most of the wines made in Saint Emilion use Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes to superb effect, balancing each varietal's finest points and ensuring the resulting wine is one which is complex, delicious, unique, and one which does justice to the excellent grapes which grow there.