Château Lucia
Enzo Ide St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
St. Émilion, Libournais, Bordeaux, France
On the nose; dark currants, stewed styled blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, blueberries top nose, black raspberries, strawberries haunt here & there, semi-sweet tarry notes, dark chocolate, dry clay, loamy dry top soil, leather, lead pencil shavings, cedar, black tea, decayed red florals with fresh violets.
The palate is full bodied. Tannins rounded, dusty and 40% resolved. The structure is still big & bold, tension tight, balance is getting there and the length is in a good place with better evolution ahead. Dark currants, stewed styled blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, blueberries top nose, black raspberries, strawberries haunt here & there, semi-sweet tarry notes, dark chocolate, hint of mocha powder, vanilla, medium spice, dry stems, bay leaf, dry black turned earth, dry clay, loamy dry top soil, leather, lead pencil shavings, cedar, black tea, decayed red florals with fresh violets. The acidity is a little light but not bad. The long, drier, balanced finish is developing but needs another 5-8 years to reveal its best self.
Photos of; Owner Michel Bortolussi, small barrel room & Chateau Lucia exterior.
Producer notes and history...the owner of Lucia, Michel Bortolussi, got his start in the Bordeaux wine business selling equipment needed to make wine to all the top producers and winemakers in Bordeaux.
However, his strongest customer base were the numerous Chateau’s located in the Saint Emilion. Michel Bortolussi knee that if so many of his customers could produce great wine, he could as well. One of his best clients was wine consultant, Stephane Derenoncourt. That relationship was the start of Chateau Lucia.
Before Bortolussi and Stephane Derenoncourt teamed up to create Chateau Lucia. The wine was formally sold under the name of Chateau Lucie before Michel Bortolussi changed the name to Lucia.
The first vintage for Lucia was made in 2001. In 2012, Chateau Lucia was sold to Enzo Ide, a Belgian businessman.
Enzo Ide has retained the same technical team for their Right Bank vineyards and wine making. Enzo Ide also owns another vineyard, Chateau La Rousselle in the Fronsac appellation.
The 4.3 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau Lucia is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
Lucia has some of the oldest vines in Bordeaux. In fact, some of the vines date all the way back to 1901. They also have two other sections of vineyard with vines that are on average 30 years of age.
The younger vines are situated close to Chateau Monbousquet. Those vines are planted in more of the sandy terroir with some clay in the soils. Overall, the vineyard has a terroir of clay and limestone soils. The vines are planted to a vine density of 5,500 vines per hectare.
There is a lot of intensive labor that takes place at Chateau Lucia. To produce Chateau Lucia, the berries are harvested by hand. The fruit is sorted twice before fermentation. The grapes are whole berry fermented in small open-top, oak tanks that range in size from 30 to 50 hectoliters.
Everything in the small cellars is moved by gravity. Malolactic fermentation takes place in french oak barrels. The wine is aged on its lees in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for between 12 to 18 months, depending on the character and quality of the vintage.
The production of Lucia is small at about 1,250 cases depending on what the vintage gives.
The 09 while tasty after opening up over an hour, still needs another 6-8+ years in bottle to be all it can be. Drink 2024-33.
On the nose; dark currants, stewed styled blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, blueberries top nose, black raspberries, strawberries haunt here & there, semi-sweet tarry notes, dark chocolate, dry clay, loamy dry top soil, leather, lead pencil shavings, cedar, black tea, decayed red florals with fresh violets.
The palate is full bodied. Tannins rounded, dusty and 40% resolved. The structure is still big & bold, tension tight, balance is getting there and the length is in a good place with better evolution ahead. Dark currants, stewed styled blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, blueberries top nose, black raspberries, strawberries haunt here & there, semi-sweet tarry notes, dark chocolate, hint of mocha powder, vanilla, medium spice, dry stems, bay leaf, dry black turned earth, dry clay, loamy dry top soil, leather, lead pencil shavings, cedar, black tea, decayed red florals with fresh violets. The acidity is a little light but not bad. The long, drier, balanced finish is developing but needs another 5-8 years to reveal its best self.
Photos of; Owner Michel Bortolussi, small barrel room & Chateau Lucia exterior.
Producer notes and history...the owner of Lucia, Michel Bortolussi, got his start in the Bordeaux wine business selling equipment needed to make wine to all the top producers and winemakers in Bordeaux.
However, his strongest customer base were the numerous Chateau’s located in the Saint Emilion. Michel Bortolussi knee that if so many of his customers could produce great wine, he could as well. One of his best clients was wine consultant, Stephane Derenoncourt. That relationship was the start of Chateau Lucia.
Before Bortolussi and Stephane Derenoncourt teamed up to create Chateau Lucia. The wine was formally sold under the name of Chateau Lucie before Michel Bortolussi changed the name to Lucia.
The first vintage for Lucia was made in 2001. In 2012, Chateau Lucia was sold to Enzo Ide, a Belgian businessman.
Enzo Ide has retained the same technical team for their Right Bank vineyards and wine making. Enzo Ide also owns another vineyard, Chateau La Rousselle in the Fronsac appellation.
The 4.3 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau Lucia is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
Lucia has some of the oldest vines in Bordeaux. In fact, some of the vines date all the way back to 1901. They also have two other sections of vineyard with vines that are on average 30 years of age.
The younger vines are situated close to Chateau Monbousquet. Those vines are planted in more of the sandy terroir with some clay in the soils. Overall, the vineyard has a terroir of clay and limestone soils. The vines are planted to a vine density of 5,500 vines per hectare.
There is a lot of intensive labor that takes place at Chateau Lucia. To produce Chateau Lucia, the berries are harvested by hand. The fruit is sorted twice before fermentation. The grapes are whole berry fermented in small open-top, oak tanks that range in size from 30 to 50 hectoliters.
Everything in the small cellars is moved by gravity. Malolactic fermentation takes place in french oak barrels. The wine is aged on its lees in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for between 12 to 18 months, depending on the character and quality of the vintage.
The production of Lucia is small at about 1,250 cases depending on what the vintage gives.
The 09 while tasty after opening up over an hour, still needs another 6-8+ years in bottle to be all it can be. Drink 2024-33.
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Dec 11th, 2014
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