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
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12 May 2016
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Wine name
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SERENA LEN DE LEL
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Vintage
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2014
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Nation
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France
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Region
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Languedoc
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AOC-DOC
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Gaillac
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Grape Varieties
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100
% Loin de l’Oeil
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Serving temperature
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10° C
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Alcohol
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13,5
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Price (in euro)
|
6
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SO2 (in mg/l)
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Nd
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Visual Examination
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Taste analysis
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Limpidity
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Quite Limpid
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Body
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Full
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Color
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Straw Yellow
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Balance
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Quite Balanced
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Consistency
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Quite consistent
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Soft sensations
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Quite Soft
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Effervescence
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//
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Hard sensations
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Quite Fresh, Quite Tasty
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Flavors intensity
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Quite Intense
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Olfactory analysis
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Flavours
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Brioche, Citrus
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Aroma intensity
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Quite Intense
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Complexity
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Scarcely Complex
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Finish/Persistence
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Quite Persistent
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Quality
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Quite Fine
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Overall evaluations
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Aromas
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Citrus, White flowers
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Development
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Ready/Young
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Harmony
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Harmonious
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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.
