Nose
Carried by aromas of fruits and white flowers, and a delicately smoky note, they express all the typicality of the terroir of Château Rahoul.
Palate
On the palate, this Graves white wine offers complex flavours of white peaches, limeflower and citrus, freshness and depth.
Growing Conditions
Renowned for its Sémillons on gravel, Rahoul 2016 is marked by its aromas of white peach and pear, with a touch of smoke. Its persistence in the mouth in these aromas reveals a minerality, a freshness and a length brought by a very beautiful Sauvignon blanc on clays in the limestone subsoil of certain parcels of the property. This successful blend, ensured by precise control of the harvest dates, provides roundness, freshness and the length of a great dry white terroir.
The Vintage
The first half of 2016 proved to be particularly rainy and mild, constituting excellent water reserves which will prove very useful to the vineyard later on. In fact, the sun sets in for a long time from mid-June with very dry weather until the end of the harvest. These good water reserves associated with temperatures that are not excessive during the day but very cool at night, contribute to the favorable development of the fruit and its aromas during ripening.
The cool nights at the end of August, after a short peak of heat wave, allowed the aromas of the whites to be preserved.
Sauvignon Blanc yield their best results on the premium quality plots located in Saint-Selve, while Semillon flourishes on the sandy-gravel soils of Portets and Podensac, where it reveals its true worth.
Harvest
We harvest sauvignons and semillons in the morning freshness in order to preserve their natural acidity.
Winemaking
The white grapes, which are predominantly Semillon, are harvested by hand in slatted crates to avoid any damage to the berries. They are then pressed under inert gas to retain the complex aromas and the freshness of the musts.
Aging
The wines are then aged for 8-9 months.
Food Pairing
This wine goes wonderfully with roast poultry, chickens, fish (grilled, pan-fried, en papillotte or with cream), seafood (lobster), as well as blue-veined cheeses (Roquefort)..
