France – Castel de Brames Serena Len de Lel 2014

Domaine and vineyard

The Domaine Castel de Brames is located in the small village of Brames-Aigues, in the South West of France, is the country yard between Toulouse and Albi. We are in one of the most ancient terroir of the AOC Gaillac, exactly on the third slope of the left side of Tarn river.

Terrain here is made of sediments deposed all along the centuries by the river, with sporadic presence of clay or stones.

The hill slope is sometimes very marked and all the vineyards are exposed to South-West. In few words, the perfect mix to give to Gaillac wines the right amount of sun and quality.

The domaine produces grapes over its 30 hectares of property, 20 of them are dedicated to red grapes, with a mix of international and autochthone grapes. In the remaining 10 hectars are cultivated white grapes, following the same principle of mixing international with autochthone. At the head of this business, since 1969, the couple composed of Camille Bauguil and Alain Boullenger, who, from 2007, decided to perform a little internal revolution by eliminating all machinery in the cave to re-discover the ancestral way to produce wine: horizontal tanks, feet to pressure and mix the grapes, in the ultimate aim to recover, in a modern way, the old aromas and flavors the industrial production was erasing.

No organic anyway but a “reasoned” conduction of the vineyard, with no chemical substances, controlling herbs and density of leaves on the vines.

The wine

Castel de Brames Serena Len de Lel 2014 is a 100% Loin de l’Oeil. The vines quite young and are trained in Cordon de Royat system with an average yield of 45 hl/ha. Grapes are harvested at dawn, using machineries. The grapes are pressured at low temperatures (10°C) and undergo the fermentation process at controlled temperature of 16°C. The wine is finally bottled and sent to the market.

Tasting Note

Date	12 May 2016
Wine name	SERENA LEN DE LEL	Vintage	2014
Nation	France	Region	Languedoc
AOC-DOC	Gaillac	Grape Varieties	100 % Loin de l’Oeil
Serving temperature	10° C	Alcohol	13,5
Price (in euro)	6	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Quite Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Straw Yellow	Balance	Quite Balanced
Consistency	Quite consistent	Soft sensations	Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Fresh, Quite Tasty
		Flavors intensity	Quite Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Brioche, Citrus
Aroma intensity	Quite Intense
Complexity	Scarcely Complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite Persistent
Quality	Quite Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Citrus, White flowers	Development	Ready/Young
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food pairing

The wine is perfect as aperitif with nibbles and appetizers. Other interesting pairing are with seafood or with young or fresh cheese.

Here it is another almost disappeared grape variety of South-West of France. Loin de l’Oeil, at least in the hands of this wine maker, gives a fat, tasty wine with good body and a little bitterness at the end. The olfactory impact is not particularly interesting: aromas of citrus and white flowers but very volatiles. Slightly different the tasting part: flavor is nice, the fat of the body gives a flavor of brioche and the bitterness tastes of citrus. Quite good the persistence, too. Another interesting wine.

Official website: www.castel-de-brames.com