MERLOT : 78% CABERNET SAUVIGNON : 18% CABERNET FRANC : 4% ----------------------------------------------- Goulée’s location close to the ocean in the uppermost Northern Médoc confers excellent natural ventilation. This was an important factor in 2014 – a hot, dry year. Meticulous work in the vineyard all year long by the Cos d’Estournel team made the most of the terroir, enhancing the wine’s concentration and length. The 2014 vintage is beautifully vivacious, with well-focused fruit. In the 2000s the legendary Chateau Cos d’Estournel acquired some prime vineyards in the northern Medoc set on rolling hills facing the Gironde river. Goulee once used to be an island in the Gironde, and the soils are thus composed of deep layers of well-draining gravel. Goulee’s vineyards are treated exactly the same as the vines at the Cos estate, with careful attention to detail and labour-intensive methods like crop-thinning. The grapes are harvested by hand and vinified by the Cos d’Estournel team to the estate’s exacting standards. La Goulee is predominantly composed of around 70-80% Merlot along with 10-20% Cabernet Sauvignon and a drop of Cabernet Franc. The young wine is matured in French oak barrels for 12 months before release. The result is a powerful and robust modern-style Bordeaux which can either be enjoyed now alongside hearty red meat and vegetarian dishes or can be cellared for another decade or more. On the nose there are tantalising notes of cassis, mulberry and sour black cherry while the first sip reveals firm tannins, a well-built structure, and hints of cigar box spice, graphite, leather and crushed wild berries.