SAUTERNES – Château Pascaud Villefranche, Barsac
My meeting with Fabien Pascaud was a real moment of happiness: the amber of its cuvées attracted the eye to dare tasting this sublime beverage. Its soft voice took you elsewhere, in the heart of its soil, to enjoy a vertical tasting where the senses surpassed their limits!
I let myself be guided by his family history; four generations respectful of know-how, having sometimes made “mistakes” to optimize the vine using the “chemistry” of the time in its treatments … “One must know to learn from his mistakes”, as his father said.
1995 marks the beginning of the cultivation without any chemical use: no more fertilizers and pesticides to regain the original character of the soil and the singularity of each year. His ethics is to optimize the existing: “Nature is self-sufficient, I preserve the vines in the respect of the living while letting the earth breathe”.
You would listen to Fabien for hours: to share about his estate, the ancestors attention to elaborate this mythical beverage, the vineyard bordered by the Ciron river that brings a morning mist on the grapes, to understand that it is necessary to avoid using modern techniques to treat the vines as well as to strip the walls, to be patient to harvest as well as not seeking the maximum degree to the risk that it rains … Exactly a good example of respect for nature is to let live the “grapes worm” on the vines; this caterpillar despite its aggressive effect spreads Botrytis, noble rot on the Sauternais grapes.
Le Botrytis
It’s time to taste!
2014 The nose is already fragrant, the mouth lined with sweet flavors with some iodized notes. The usual blend consists of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon.
The discussion focuses on the more imaginative food and wine pairings than the traditional companion of foie gras: white meat such as a chicken cooked with a glass of Sauternes where potatoes, peppers and a clove of garlic with its skin are simmering… Or to serve with cakes or candied fruits. This beverage makes it possible to dare, to imagine compositions “sweet of the wine – salty of the dishes”: sashimi of white fish (chinchard, cod …), scallops …
2009 It’s apple in your mouth, with a nice concentration in the grapes! It’s real smooth and has a beautiful color!
2003 A super concentration of sugar, which increases every day, the grains are old rose in the sun; It was necessary to harvest everything in 7 days.
A mythical cuvée, almost a candy! Notes of incense, the flavors express Africa: it smells sand, hot earth, dry fig, dates …
2000 The colour is very ambered, there is more sauvignon in the blending. It melts in the mouth.
1983 Concentration is lighter.
1988 The year is richer, more concentrated, which explains why Fabien have you taste it at the end.
These old vintages are sublime: the amber is adorned with a thousand lights, the nose travels to the tropical countries, it is heady in mouth, all the senses are stirred, it’s difficult to describe how so much pleasure is intense every time… I imagine myself with friends around a fireplace, enjoying this mythical beverage with amaretti from Sardinia, listing to Thomas Enhco and Vassilena Serafimova…their music is like golden drops in our ears :
In conclusion, let us welcome the beautiful gold medal obtained for the 2015 vintage presented in preview at the “Challenge Millésime Bio 2017” in Marseille.
Family farm since the end of the 18th century. Cellared & bottled by the winery. 6 hectares.
Mail: chateau.pascaudvillefranche@orange.fr
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