Château Panchille, Merlot, Bordeaux Rouge Supérieur, Bordeaux, France 2019

Panchille's Bordeaux Supérieur is a big and smooth wine full of dark berries and fruit, with soft enveloping tannins and a balanced acidity.

Merlot from 45-year-old vines on the banks of the Dordogne across from Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The soil is sandy and silty clay over gravel bedrock. This well-draining soil type remains cool as temperatures rise.

Grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness then sorted, de-stemmed, crushed and then placed into vats quickly to preserve as much of the grape matter as possible. Fermentation is carried out in steel with regular pump-overs during maceration. Malolactic fermentation occurs rapidly in stainless steel vats.

The wine ages for 24 months in a combination of stainless steel and oak barrels of varying age.