Château Lamothe de Haux

I had a can of escargot in the refrigerator that had been sitting there for at least six months.  Looking at the expiration date, I still had a good year before they would “expire” but I was tired of moving the can around from shelf to shelf. Not being able to find anymore, they became an accompaniment to a garlic flan with a parsley-cream sauce that I served  at a recent French class.  The dish paired beautifully with this Bordeaux.

The wine was bottled on the estate of Château Lamothe with the estate having been family owned since 1956. They began with 6 hectares in 1972 and now their three estates total 85 hectares.

The vineyards consist of 59 ha of red wine varieties consisting of Merlot (60%), Cabernet Sauvignon  (30%) and Cabernet Franc (10%).  The remaining 26 ha are planted with the Bordeaux varieties of Sauvignon Blanc (40%), Sémillon (40%), and Muscadelle (20%).

The particular bottle that we enjoyed is the traditional blend composed of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, and 20% Muscadelle. It is based on the ancient tradition, rare in Bordeaux these days, of traditional wine-making with skin contact (50%), cool fermentation in the vat, and barrel-aging on the lees for about 3 weeks.

It was refreshingly acidic, round, and pleasantly fruit-forward, pairing perfectly with the creaminess of the flan and sweet escargot.  It would also make an excellent aperitif or a lovely accompaniment to fish or oysters on the patio come summer.