Gerard Bertrand – Cigalus 2012 – Aude Hauterive

Red wine with a very dense core, dark ruby; however the rim has more of a tawny colour, there’s nothing blue or purple here, it’s obviously a wine with some evolution. The nose is quite intense, showing dried fruits, notes of cassis, leather, some ripe herbs or dried herbs. It feels quite Cabernet, that combination of cassis and herbs, but also with some dark plum notes. No obvious oak in here. The palate is still rather youthful, it has a very dense core of dark ripe cassis, plum; and thinking about the Cabernet again, we certainly feel there’s lots of youthful unresolved tannins here, they’re ripe but still very present. The oak is well integrated, but still the emphasis on the palate is a lot of fruit. Good degree of freshness, some nice hints of vanilla, some chocolate on the aftertaste, ripe dark cassis. Good length, it keeps lingering on the palate, with a persistent cassis flavour. Very well made, still a bit youthful considering the tannin, but to me it feels like a very nice ripe Cabernet from a warmer climate, in a quite polished and modern style, that should have a long life ahead of it.

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.