Confidently out of the glass with reassuring, classic notes of warm plums, clove oil, baked blackberries and Morello cherries. The palate has an ambitious, sturdy frame of chewy tannins and loads of freshness supporting the muscular blue and black fruits, finishing on a lingering mineral note.\n \n Producer Information\n Chateau Tour Bayard was built in 1956 by Angelo Nicoletti, and Italian native who immigrated with his family after World War I. The original estate consisted of only 10 hectares, in AOC Montagne St. Emilion. After several years investing hard work into developing the vineyard, Angelo was finally able to reap the fruits of his labor. The reputation for his wines preceded him, and faithful customers were coming every year to stock up and spend time at his convivial property. In 1958, Angelo and his wife Jeannette gave birth to their daughter Fanny. After her accounting studies, Fanny joined her parents in the late 70's to help manage the estate. The whole family continued the work all together, passing down their knowledge and skill to each generation after. Fanny's son, Julien Richard, graduated university as an Agronomist Engineer and joined the estate in 2008. He learned the winemaking process alongside his grand-father, Angelo, and through several internships in Napa Valley, Rioja and Bordeaux. Julien implemented meticulous and environmentally friendly practices in the vineyard, respecting his elder's legacy. In 2013, he decided to extend the vineyard to 25 hectares and today, Chateau Tour Bayard consists of 15 hectares in Montagne Saint-Emilion and 10 hectares in Puisseguin Saint-Emilion. Located in the lieu-dit, or "Bayard", about 2km away from Montagne and 5km to Saint-Emilion, thus the estate is on the right bank of Bordeaux. This area is characterized by beautiful hillsides with great sunlight exposure, and the terroir is composed of rich clay-limestone soils. Known as one of the most beautiful places in the appellation, it can be compared to the famous Saint-Emilion, as both appellations share many terroir characteristics. The vines are 30 years in average and planted with 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Thanks to the farming practices and use of natural ingredients, the soils have an extraordinary microbiological balance which provide the wines with the nutriments they need and help them to better resist to diseases-key for the full expression of each grape variety. This respectful work of nature tends toward a single goal: to reduce treatments as much as possible, in order to let the quality of the terroir fully express and transmit an eco-friendly environment to the future generations. Since 2017, Julien Richard has registered the estate in a certification program for High Environmental Value Level 3, which imposes a global management system by respecting the environment in both the vineyard and the cellar. Harvest is manual, grapes are picked in small crates and destemmed through a last generation sorting system. Winemaking is traditional and the cellar is equipped with stainless steel tanks and thermo-regulated concrete vats with a closed-circuit pump system to prevent the wine from oxydation. Some plots are vinified in 500L barrels for precision work on the tannic structure of the wines.
