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The 'Chateau' name on the label unfortunately does not refer to
some ancient castle on the premises! It refers to the given name
of a vineyard or area of a vineyard that produces the bottle of
wine or is sometimes just a 'product' label. A Chateau vineyard
may produce another wine (usually a secondary vintage) under another
name. Generally these second wines are comparable to the first and
are very good value wines. They are produced for a number of differing
reasons ranging from different vine stocks to even the fact that
part of the 'first' wine was not quite up to standard so it was
downgraded. Whatever the reason these second wines must be made
by the same wine-makers and in the same cellars and barrels in which
the first wine of the chateau is made.
"Mis en bouteille au château" means that the wine
is château-bottled, or "mis en bouteille à la
propriété" (bottled at the property of the vineyard).
These phrases are very good tests of quality as they mean the wine
has been produced solely by one vineyard.
Other variations are "mis en bouteille dans la région
de production" (bottled in the region of production), or "mis
en bouteille dans nos caves" (bottled in our cellars, usually
a wine of a merchant), these are usually blends from different vineyards.
Although Bordeaux wines are inherently blends, these wines tend
to be blends of wines of different poorer quality chateau.
The 'vintage' or year in which the grapes were harvested. 100% of
the wine must be from the year on the label. This is very different from some wines you will find on the shelves of your local supermarket, where the grape juice used may have little to do with the factory where the wine was made.
The volume in a standard wine bottle is 75 centilitre's (3/4 of
a litre). Alcohol content varies around 11% to 12.5%.
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Reading a label carefully is a good way of being sure you buying a decent wine:-
The information appears on the label as follows:-
- The name of the A.O.C.
(Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) winegrowing region, district, or village to which the wine is qualified.
The more specific the region, usually the better the wine. Château Anthonic is of the specific appellation
'Moulis', so is labelled as such, but is in the larger region of Médoc which is within the yet larger general
"Appellation Bordeaux Contrôlée".
This is a system of 3 steps, other regions my only have one step up from the general Bordeaux classification.
- The volume of the wine in the bottle.
- The percentage of alcohol by volume, usually 11% to 12.5%.
- The control number or lot identification number, not shown here as it is usually on the back label or the metal capsule.
- "Mis en bouteille au château" bottled by the château/vineyard itself, not shipped to a third party to be processed. It means the wine is purely the production of the vineyard and not a mix of anyone else's production. This is very important in telling the quality of a wine. Without this labelling you, especially on the Bordeaux Appellation, you cannot be sure of the origins of the wine or it's quality.
Can also say 'Mis en bouteille à la Propriété', which is basically the same thing.
- The names of the proprietors of the vineyard and business registration.
- It could state the regions of production here, i.e.if the region was 'Margaux', then 'Margaux', but here the region has been stated within the Château logo below. Since 2000 the designation "Vin de Bordeaux" or "Grand Vin de Bordeaux" is generally used as in this label as here.
- The vintage or year in which the grapes were harvested. 100% of the wine must be from the year on the label.
- The name of the wine which could be the name of the vineyard itself or just simply a product name. The wine may not be called after a
Château. 'Clos Segransan' for instance, the French name "Clos" means surrounded by walls, a walled or enclosed vineyard.
- The bottle number of the vintage.
- This is the classification of the vineyard itself, awarded over the years for the consistency of the wine it has produced - it is not an award for the wine directly, but a guarantee of the standards attained by the vineyard.
- This is an award for the wine within the bottle. Medals are awarded on a yearly basis, Gold Silver and Bronze for the best wines in their categories either by the regional AOC, or, as in this case, a Gold medal to Château Anthonic by the 'Agricole de Paris', the
central authority for the AOC system.
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