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Cuvée Marie Charles Hours 2004 Vintage: 2004 Colour: White Origin: France - South-West France - Jurançon Sec Alc % by Vol: 14% (6 X 750ml 114CHF) Jean-Michel Deluc:

Our opinion

An absolutely divine cuvée! Le Gros Manseng proves it's potential for excellent quality with this wine. Balance, finesse, elegance, strength – this wine has it all, including a complex, enticing background dominated by fruity notes. Good for drinking today, but will improve given time.

Description

***** ChateauOnline! Charles Hours, a discreet yet wonderfully talented winemaker, produces superb, harmonious wines full of elegance, finesse, strength and concentration. This cuvée composes 90% Gros Manseng and 10% Courbu and was named after Charles' daughter Marie, who is currently persuing a course in oenologie. Loaded with aromatic finesse, this wine is made for hiding away in your cellar. Only after 4 or 5 years will minerality, complexity, dynamism and good length on the palate come into play – all the characteristics of the greatest white wines. Don't miss out on these fantastic aspects by drinking too early.

Tips on service

• Conservation: ready now but will improve
• At its best in: 2009
• To decant: 1 hour
• Serve at 11°

Food and wine matching

Drink on it's own as an aperitif or alternatively with poached fish in creamy sauces, oysters, duck foie gras or hard cheeses.

Tasting notes

By Jean Michel Deluc : Master Sommelier

Eye - A golden coloured wine with youthful glints of green and silvery nuances at the edge of the glass. The wine is bright, luminous, crystalline, displays good concentration and has a rich appearance in the glass.
Nose - The nose will surprise you with it's finesse and elegance, with an aromatic framework dominated by fruity notes of exotic and citrus fruits. You will discover aromas of peach, apple, poached pear, lemon confit, fresh pineapple and mango. With aeration, the wine takes on a more honey-like impression, accompanied by a hint of mint that gives the wine it's unique character. Finally, notes of fresh brioche and vanilla arrive in the finish to close an already complex nose.
Palate - The attack on the palate is smooth and round, almost sugary, but quickly takes on a fresher attitude of a dry wine. The maturity of the wine is counter-balanced by a sharp, youthful acidity. Good length confirms good potential for ageing. You will discover all the same fruity aromas that were found on the nose, before finishing with that all important minerality. Superb, absolutely superb!