Wine Words & Video Tape

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Château Citran

Address: Chemin de Citran, 33480 Avensan

Telephone: +33 (0)5 56 58 21 01

E-mail: info@citran.com

Website: www.citran.com

Château Citran produces top quality Haut-Médoc at a reasonable price. Owned for a while by a Japanese syndicate group the estate was sold in 1996 to the Merlaut family [Château Chasse-Spleen and Château Gruaud Larose] and is under the directorship of Antoine Merlaut. The estate has very old origins which can be traced back to the twelfth century. The wines are characterized by very ripe fruit flavours and are usually pretty accessible early on.

Vineyard/Terrior: Sandy gravel on limestone with clay limestone subsoil. 100 hectares are planted with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot.

Winemaking/Elevage: The wine spends 15-18 months in French oak barrels.

Tasting notes:

  • 2015 Deep and saturated; earthy purple at edge; little fresher on the nose than Cantemerle; perfume; black fruits and cherry tones; blackcurrants too; ripe cassis beneath; oak to integrate on the palate; will settle; wood tannins to integrate but fruit is stylish. [56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 33% new oak, 13% alc]. Drink 2022-2030. Tasted UGCB 5/4/16. 89-91 
  • 2014 Mid depth; vibrant edge; ripe aromatics; red fruits; some wet rock notes; ripe tones; spices; some resin; worked a bit but supple and soft mid palate; little oak on the palate too; chewy finish; should settle OK. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc. Drink 2019-2028. 86-88
  • 2013 Deep-ish colour; purple at edge; earth and undergrowth note; cool and leafy notes; earthy Cabernet palate; quite full initially but with strong acids running through; lots of elements and some chew on the finish. Perhaps a bit hollow in the middle? See how it settles. [47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc]. Drink 2017-2023. 84-86
  • 2012 Deep and saturated; some pine, menthol and spice; quite integrated; spicy fruit; lots of extract on the palate and spicy tones; chewy finish. Should come good but will always be a gutsy effort. UGC Tuesday April 9, 2012. 85-87
  • 2011 Mid depth; light on the nose; some strawberry and red fruit lift; structured on the palate with lots of acid and sharp bones poking out at you. Puckering on finish. Not much fun. Again several steps backwards from primeurs. Drink 2016-2021. 82 UGC Oct ’13 [Earlier note] Deep and glossy looking; nice open nose, some crushed rocks, red fruits and lift; attractive satiny red fruits here, but not jammy like La Tour Carnet; palate bright, balanced fruit and acid, not overdone; some perfue – well balanced wine with some harmony. Chewy and sappy finish but nothing green here. Very good effort. Tasted UGC. 87-89+
  • 2010 Deep and dark; red fruits, quite saturated in flavour; thick and rich palate; chewier than ’09 with more grip and obvious structure. Some earthy tones with freshness and grip. 88+/100 [Earlier] Deep and dense; ripe strawberry tones; some resin from oak; quite ripe and rasiny, almost jammy note; resin again, some chocolate; lots of extract and grip. Will meld. Tannin [lots] is ripe. 86-88/100 Tasted 5 April at UGC. [Second tasting] Deep and saturated; super-ripe, almost jammy note; certainly on the sweet strawberry fruit spectrum; quite sweet strawberry fruit on the palate two but also tannic; dry palate and chewy with density. Lots of tannin here. Feels over extracted. Much  84-86?/100 Tasted 7 April at UGC
  • 2009 Mid red; very sexy and open red fruits on the nose; ripe and almost Burgundian; sweet entry on the palate; ripe, strawberry fruit; soft and ripe tannin. Lovely wine. For drinking from the off. 90+/100 [Earlier] Earthy purple, up to rim; sweet, slightly jammy edge to nose; lots of fruit and raspberry and blackcurrants; palate quite precise; real suppleness again here with intensity; this is really remarkably ripe. Great wine here. The best wine since their sumptuous 1990. Nice finish. 90+/100 Tasted 30th March 2010 En Primeur.
  • 2008 Mid red; nice strawberry fruit, real lift and life on the nose along with some oak resin; palate quite dense with some lift and acid and tannin but not too dry; more sappy. Needs some time but a good wine. 86+/100 UGC Oct ’10

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