12 pack - '2013 Le Chevalier' - Easter Egg Hunt

This is a FULL CASE (12 bottles) of 2013 'Le Chevalier' Merlot-Cabernet-Petit Verdot

**40% off at $576 for 12 ($48/bottle). RRP is $960 ($80/bottle)**

Wine Club discount is 50%. Please email us with your order.

When first released, this wine was awarded Huon Hooke's best new release in 2014 for a red blend.

In the 2004 cult-wine movie, Sideways, Paul Giamatti's character, Miles, single-handedly destroyed merlot sales when he uttered his famous expletive filled phrase about never wanting another merlot. Wine aficionado's jumped on the bandwagon, the press belittled merlot and we still come across sommeliers talking about how they'd never range merlot because of the movie... In the US, sales of Merlot fell 40% in 2005 and it became known as the "Sideways Effect". The funny thing is, the movie ends with Miles drinking his favourite wine, a 1961 Cheval Blanc. This was the ultimate wine lovers joke - Cheval Blanc is a Merlot (well 95% merlot). The fact that the director actually wanted to use Chateau Petrus (100% merlot) but couldn't because it was denied permission by the Chateau, proves that this inside joke was deliberate. Sadly, the damage was done, and unfairly Merlot still remains on the 'outer' for new world wines. However when it comes to old world wines, where many wine experts are obviously not aware of the varieties contained in the wines - 3 of the top 30 wines in the world are merlots (Petrus, Cheval Blanc and Le Pin).

This is the most ancient blend of Bordeaux and evolved alongside their cultural dish - Pauillac Lamb, i.e. if you love a lamb roast, this blend is for you. The Right Bank wines are from Pomerol where wines are all Merlot dominant, sometimes with a little Cab Sauv, Franc and/or Petit Verdot. The secret is shallow soil on a hard-pan limestone enriched clay layer called the boutonnière – this limits water availability from mid-summer (which also happens to be veraison), restricting yields and adds gravitas and richness to the wine. It is true that merlot on fertile, deep soils creates wines of blandness (as they do for most wines grown on these commercial sites) but grown on these shallower, low vigour soils it creates a wine that balances elegance, intensity and richness. Our soils are similarly shallow and limestone enriched to those of Pomerol (like Burgundy, Bordeaux is also an ancient coastline of the Aquitaine basin). The grapes are small and flavours intense. After 11 years, the wine remains vibrant and has great length. 

When first released, this wine was awarded Huon Hooke's best new release in 2014 for a red blend.

For those who also want to share in the preferred wine blend of the English crown for 500 years and a key reason for the 100 Year War – this is for you.