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Château La Louvière Red
Château La Louvière has many fascinating facets. The sumptuous architecture of the château building dates from the late 18th century, but winegrowing here goes back more than 700 years. The first vines were planted circa 1310, although modern winemaking dates from the 17th century and was handed down by able monks from the Carthusian monastery in Bordeaux, who had acquired considerable talent as viticulturists and winemakers. The people who produce the wine in the 21st century have inherited these time-honoured methods, adding just the right amount of innovation and modernity to make the utmost of the outstanding terroir. La Louvière's red wine has a dark colour and an elegant bouquet with delicate hints of oak...
Wine style
Full and Complex
Grape blend
Cabernet Sauvignon 57% / Merlot 40% / Petit verdot 3%.
Weather
Spring was very trying, with considerable rainfall leading to fungal diseases of all sorts. This called for very close attention in the vines until the 14th of July, when the weather changed durably for the better.
Tasting Comment
Appareance
This wine has an immediately attractive, clear, brilliant, deep colour close to garnet red.
Nose
The nose is charming, with mineral components as well as nuances of cocoa and sweet spice.
Mouth
The wine is quite delicious on the palate: concentrated – but not overly so – and very attractive. The tannin is in no way aggressive. This 2012 is round, complex, and very enjoyable to drink thanks to red fruit (Morello cherry, cherry, and redcurrant) flavours, followed by a long aftertaste featuring cocoa and toasted overtones. It shines with osso bucco, grilled beef fillet, and lamb.
Ratings and reviews
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2016 Edition - This 2012's (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot) youthful richness is immediately striking. The deep black cherry colour has brilliant deep purple highlights. The remarkably balanced bouquet combines deep fruit (blueberry, blueberry, and strawberry) with understated oak aromas. The wine is also exceptional on the palate, which is full-bodied, concentrated, and elegant. The tannin is well-extracted and the oak not only adds complexity, but also highlights the wine's intrinsic flavour rather than overshadows it. The long, fruity aftertaste gives every impression of a very successful vintage. 2018-2023. 
Rib of beef.
2016 Edition - The red and white wines wines from La Louvière are powerful and unfailingly reliable. 2012 red La Louvière is powerful, with a fine tannic texture and great concentration. It features beautiful, long-lasting red fruit flavours along with delicate vanilla and mineral nuances and a very vigorous aftertaste. Good ageing potential.
Top 100 Bordeaux - 2012 nice surprise left bank of the river - This wine shows good ripe fruit, which is not so common in this vintage. There are fine red fruit flavours on the palate as well as well-integrated oak. Fairly creamy texture.
From one of the flagship estates of André Lurton, La Louvière (which has given me great pleasure, both white and red for many years) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A supple-textured, sexy style of Pessac-Lèognan with a dense ruby/purple color, loads of cassis and ripe plum fruit. This wine is medium-bodied, judiciously oaked, long, rich and round. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. Drink : 2015-2030.
2015/2016 Edition - Very lovely, deep bouquet with plenty of ripe fruit as well as vanilla, mineral, and spicy overtones. Concentrated, compact, and extremely vigorous on the palate with good tannic texture and a long aftertaste. Good potential.
Still marked by oak, this firm, solid wine is still somewhat tight. It has a smoky quality, as well as a certain finesse. The weak point: a slight dryness on the finish. It will undoubtedly be more friendly when served with a stewed meat dish in 2 or 3 years.
Fruity and rich, with good follow-through on the palate and truly classic character.
Elegant and well-focused. Apogée : 2017-2027.
Le Guide des vins de France - Fruity and unctuous. Good style with an attractive aftertaste. Very classic profile.
Primeurs - Aromas of cocoa and sweet spice overlay a charming bouquet of rose and blueberry. Dense and delicious on the palate, but without over-concentration. Deep and long with a medley of black fruit flavours.
Sharp redcurrant crab apple fruit on the nose, feels quite precise, probably just a touch of reduction at this stage. Firm, bright, young buck, has a light touch to the extraction, wrung out tannins, fruit all coiled and waiting. Good potential. Recommended. Drink 2018-2028.
The depth of fruit and mineral, berry and lemon grass character gives pleasure already. Tannic, yet soft and attractive.
This offers a nice sappy feel, with plum paste and cassis at the core, lined with roasted apple wood and briar notes that give a nice texture on the finish. (James Molesworth)
Bordeaux en primeurs -
Looks a little paler than some with a crimson rim. Slightly raw, leafy nose. Demandingly scrawny fruit and obtrusive tannins. But there is lift here. It may all come right in the end… It is certainly refreshing and not mucked about with. And the finish is very impressive – builds, burgundy style. Drink 2020-2032
Dark colour of medium intensity. Fruity, ripe and suave nose. Fruity, attractive and tasty on the palate with average body. The afteraste is a touch tannic, and of medium length.
Medium-bodied with fresh, smoky cherries on the nose and a fresh, cherry finish produced a wine that should be drinkable on release.
Primeurs - Black fruit and liquorice on the nose. Round, smooth, fresh and very fruity on the palate with delicate tannin. O: 2016 – P: 9 years. (Jacques Dupont)
Slightly reduced with aromas of sweet cherry and herbs, woodruff and vanilla. Initially somewhat green on the palate, with marked acidity followed by oaky creaminess (but also considerable fruitiness) on the finish. The contrast between the greenness and the creaminess should decrease as the wine ages. (Ulrich Sautter)
Barrel simple. Intense acidity and bright black-currant fruit makes this wine fresh and fruity. There's firm tannic structure at the core, but it's at the service of the fruit. This is a wine that's likely to age over the meium term. (Roger Voss)
Consumption period
2016-2027
Our suggestions
White meats
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vegetables
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Cheese |
Salads |
Red meats
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Ground
Surface
46.00 ha
Soil
Deep gravel
Winemaking
Grape harvest
By hand with small deep crates
Others
Graft stock
101.14 - Riparia gloire - 3309
Plant food
Traditional, limited impact
Plant density
8,500 vines per hectare
Wine average age
26 years
Grape variety
Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot
Pruning type
Double Guyot with debudding
Fermentation
In stainless-steel temperature-controlled tanks with patented cap-breaking system and concrete tanks with pigeage
Fermentation temperature
28 to 30 °C
Malolactic
Yes
Wine maturing
For 12 months in oak barrels (40-50 % new) with racking
Wine montage
Egg white
Maturing potential
Subject to vintage, expressive between 3 and 5 years, can age 15 to 30 years.
Oenologist consultant
Michel ROLLAND and Mikaël LAIZET.
Recipes
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