Chateau La Confession, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2016

"Flowers, licorice, smoke and espresso notes are in the nose. On the palate, the wine is soft, lush, sweet, opulently textured and full bodied. The polished tannins, ripe fruits, spice and earth mingle well on your palate. The wine was made with 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc."

93 Pts The Wine Cellar Insider.

The 7.5 hectare Saint Emilion vineyard of Chateau La Confession is planted to 70% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. On average the vines are maintained at 40 years of age. The vineyard is situated right off the main road to Libourne, just outside the Saint Emilion village, not too far from Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot.

The terroir is clay, chalk, and siliceous soils. Some of their Cabernet Franc vines are more than 70 years of age.

To produce the wine of Chateau La Confession, vinification takes place in open wood tanks that range in size from 55 hectoliters up to 70 hectoliters per vat. The malolactic fermentation occurs in new, French, oak barrels.

Jean Philippe Janoueix uses a combination of different shaped, oak barrels. 50% of the barrels are in the traditional shape and the other 50% are in the shape of a cigar because they offer better digestion of the lees by the wine, owing to a wider surface of exchange brought by their shape.

The wine is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for between 15 and 19 months, depending on the vintage.

2001 was the debut vintage for Chateau La Confession for the new, young owner, Jean-Philippe Janoueix. It only took a few years until Chateau La Confession started showing what it was capable of. 2005 was the first vintage expressing the true quality of wine that could be made at Chateau La Confession.

Some of this has to do with the novel ideas Janoueix began experimenting with. This was the first vintage where Janoueix warmed the barrels before placing the wine in them. According to Janoueix, this technique allows for a more gentle extraction with no shock to the Bordeaux grapes, which helps to produce a softer, more natural wine.