I was at a wine seminar today and the speaker said that there are no Bdx chateaus who bottle a single variety/grape such as 100% Cabernet in Pauillac or 100% Merlot in Pomerol. Then they went on to say that at least within the classified growths 1st through 4th this is true.
Is it? I’ve pretty much lost track of what is what in Bdx.
Also said Grange was the most expensive wine from Australia. I know that is not true.
Perhaps I expect too much from the experts?
I learned a valuable lesson. When speaking to a crowd about wine be careful about making statements in an absolute sense.
Regardless, it was an informative day and beats the hell out of working.
La Fleur de Gay (Pomerol) and La Gomerie (St-Emilion) are pure merlot as far as I know (neither appellations under the 1855 classification though). There are probably a couple more at least.
For cru classé châteaux, none produce a monovarietal wine as their grand vin year in year out. As others have noted some big-name but non-classified châteaux do produce such wines though. Notably, both Petrus and Le Pin are 100% Merlot, although both have/had Cabernet Franc planted. Older vintages of Petrus included some Cabernet Franc IIRC, but the vines are very unproductive and the fruit is not included in the wine in very recent vintages.
On the left bank, the 1961 Lafite-Rothschild was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but this makes it a real rarity. In general they are all blends. By chance there is some possibility that we may see some Merlot-free blends in 2013, as the Merlot volumes are way down this year, and some have called into question the quality of the Merlots. Paul Pontallier at Margaux may (he has yet to decide) not include any Merlot in this years blend. This won’t make it a monovarietial cuvée though, as he likes the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot too.
What Australian wine is more expensive than Grange? I guess you could say the Penfolds Ampoule, but I don’t think that counts. I’m assuming you mean some other wine?
Torbreck The Laird? Grange has shot up in price so much recently I’m not sure what current vintages are going for but I think it’s still lower than The Laird
I was considering the Penfolds Ampoule, but see this also: http://www.wine-searcher.com/most-expensive-wines-australia
I don’t see the Two Hands “My Hands” on this list. Not sure of the price, but it’s pretty expensive. Whatever the case I can’t afford any of them!
What Australian wine is more expensive than Grange? I guess you could say the Penfolds Ampoule, but I don’t think that counts. I’m assuming you mean some other wine?
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