Chateau Clos Chaumont – Premières Cotes de Bordeaux

An Atherton Wine Imports Exclusive for the West Coast

Chateau Clos Chaumont is located in the tiny town of Haux, on the bank of the Garonne River south of Bordeaux. The Chateau had not produced any decent wine for fifty years when Dutchman Pieter Verbeek purchased the property in 1990. He immediately began to replant the vineyards and renovate the cellars with the intention of producing the best wine possible from this underrated terroir. Kees van Leeuwen, consultant and former technical director for Cheval Blanc, has been directing the redevelopment of existing vineyards and the purchase of additional parcels with older vines.

Atherton Wine Imports distributes both the red and white wine of Clos Chaumont. The vineyards are currently planted with 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Malbec for the red and with 55% Semillon and 45% Sauvignon Blanc for the white.

Clos Chaumont now practices the most important vineyard and cellar techniques employed by top Chateaux – minimizing yields (only 40hl/ha), harvesting by hand at the time of optimal ripeness, hand sorting to remove any inferior grapes, and ageing the wine in high quality oak barrels. The results are impressive and Clos Chaumont has become a consistent medal winner and “sleeper.”

Robert Parker writes “A revelation from the Premieres Cotes, Clos Chaumont's 2001 is a spicy, richly fruity wine with medium body, good depth, ripe tannin, and a surprisingly long finish. It should drink well for 5-6 years.”

Quick Facts:

• Vineyard: 8.5 hectares (will increase to about 14 hectares over the next few years) with limestone, gravel, and clay soil on South-facing slopes. Pesticides are never used and the fertilizer is purely organic. Leaves are pulled twice a year to improve the exposure of the grapes to the sun.
• Grape varieties: Red – Merlot 60 %, Cabernet sauvignon 30 %, Cabernet-franc 5 %, Malbec 5%. White – 55% Semillon, 45% Sauvignon Blanc
• Winemaking and Elevage: Red –12 months ageing in oak barrels, 30%-40% new. Fining with egg whites. White – The Sauvignon macerates briefly before a light pressing and is then cold-fermented. The Semillon is whole-berry pressed and fermented on the lees in new oak barrels.

Scores and Awards

• Robert Parker: 2001 (85-87); 2000 (88 “sleeper”); 1999 (88); 1998 (88); 1996 (86-87).
• Guide Hachette 1999: Coup de Coeur for 1996 and 1999.
• Guide Hachette 2004: One star for 2002 Blanc.
• Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold Medal for 1996; Silver Medal for 1997, 1998, 1999.