Chateau Rauzan Gassies 2 eme Cru Classe Margaux 2000
"CHATEAU RAUZAN-GASSIES In 1661 Pierre Desmesures de Rauzan bought the vineyards belonging to the Gassies family. Then in 1766 the property was divided into Rauzan-Gassies and Rauzan-Ségla. In 1946 the Quié family bought the estate and have remained in charge ever since with Jean-Michel Quié currently at the helm. Since 1994, Jean-Louis Camp who gained experience at Château Loudenne has been making great strides in improving the quality of the wines, with notable success. The château has approximately 30 hectares of vines which are planted with 65 Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 Merlot and 10 Cabernet Franc. The soil is a mix of deep gravel, sandy gravel and sand. Surprisingly for a Second Growth the grapes are mainly machine harvested. Before fermentation the must is stabilized at low temperatures for about 36 hours with enzymes which aid colour extraction. Then the must is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks for around 3 weeks and then transferred into oak barrels, of which about one third are new oak. The wine is matured for about 12 months after which it is fined and filtered before bottling. Annual production is about 120,000 bottles and their Second Wine is called Chevalier de Rauzan-Gassies." -Supplier notes