Chateau Chasse-Spleen 2011

The color is composed of a dark and brilliant red. On the nose, a light vanilla and wooden touch is underlined by aromas of plum, fresh mint, and black minty pepper with also a pinch of blackcurrant during the agitation. The attack is sharp and clear. The fine grain makes a silky thread. A light fat produces the scale and the sweetness. Some liquorice touches are born and finale persists for a long time.

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. To the French, Chasse-Spleen means "chasing out the blues." Lord Byron's spleen, meaning "nostalgia," has now been assimilated into the French language. And in 1863 the painter Odilon Redon, and famous neighbor, suggested this magical name to the chateau's owner while working on an illustration of Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal. The script of the 2011 vintage begins with a rainy winter and a scorching spring finish which July chills. August passes from bright shiny to dark skies. Humidity and heat open to worries. Nice weather, breeze, and self control reassure during the harvest: the chateau avoids grey rottenness and near-the-right ripeness. "Qu'importe le fil, l'ombrelle permet de s'appuyer sur l'air (Whatever the wire, the sunshade permits to lean upon the air)" (Didier Arnaudet).