14.5% abv, Earl de Cournaud, Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac Gironde, imported by RNDC Texas LLC, Houston, TX. Cork closure: natural. Biodynamic calendar: leaf day.
This castle on the right bank is owned by Patrick de Cournuaud and the property is sustainably farmed and encompasses 19 hectares of vines, 35 years of age on average. From the domaine: “Built in 1769, the estate was bequeathed as part of the dowry of Jeanne-Modeste Couvrat to Jean-Baptiste de Cournuaud upon their marriage in 1805. Since then, Château Mazeris has produced wine in the hands of 9 successive generations of de Cournuauds. Today it is helmed by Patrick de Cournuaud and his sons, Jean and Matthieu. There are three labels: Château Mazeris, Château Lafond (2nd label) and La Part des Anges, which is only made in top vintages.”
Château Lafond, their second label, is a blend of roughly 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc from clay and limestone soils. The vinification process is the same as the Mazeris but the Lafond is from some of the estates younger vines: the fermentation is completed with native yeasts, the wine is treated with gentle pump-overs twice daily during fermentation and ages in small French oak barrels for over a year.
Tasting note: the Lafond is medium garnet in color with a clean nose of pronounced intensity with aromas of maraschino liqueur, black cherry, vanilla, cedar and graphite. On the palate this wine is dry with medium+ acidity, medium+ tannins, medium body, medium+ alcohol, pronounced flavor intensity and a medium+ finish with flavors of eucalyptus, juniper, black currant, damson, Japanese plum, black cherry, mulberry, fig, tobacco, cedar, charred wood, creamy toffee, graphite, and earth. Drink now or through 2032, this wine is very good 9.3/10.