Château de Camensac is a winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 in the Haut-Médoc appellation

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 of the Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 region of France. Château de Camensac is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...

.

Vineyard

The vineyards of Château Camensac are in the commune of Saint-Laurent-Médoc

Saint-Laurent-Médoc

Saint-Laurent-Médoc is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

, just beyond the boundary of the Saint-Julien-Beychevelle

Saint-Julien-Beychevelle

Saint-Julien-Beychevelle is a commune on the left bank of the Garonne estuary in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Wine:...

 appellation. As such it is entitled to only the Haut-Médoc appellation for its wines. The estate's 65 hectares of vines (60% Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, 40% Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

) are planted at a dense 10,000 vines per hectare and have an average age of 35 years. The estate limits yields to 45 hectoliters per hectare and grapes are picked and sorted by hand.

The Wine

As is common for wineries in the Médoc

Médoc

The Médoc is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe...

, Château Camensac produces two wines, its first label, Château Camensac, and a second label, La Closerie de Camensac, into which lesser quality lots are blended. After harvest, the wines undergo primary fermentation in stainless steel vats before being transferred to oak barrels for malolactic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples...

 and 17–20 months of aging.
In recent years, oenologist Michel Rolland

Michel Rolland

Michel Rolland is an influential Bordeaux-based oenologist, with hundreds of clients across 13 countries and influencing wine style around the world...

has been a consultant.

External links

• Château Camensac official site