Best-of-wine
Weinreporter Aktuell:
Hamburg/Fellbach / 02.11.2007
Double win for Château de Frausseilles
The highest honours at the Grand Prix Degustation 2007 have been awarded to the Pfalz and to Gaillac
The award for the "range of the year" at the Grand Prix Degustation 2007 goes to France. The Château de Frausseilles vineyard from the Gaillac region in the southwest of France achieved the highest combined score for the five wines it entered at this year's tasting in the international competition held in Hamburg. Past winners of the award, first presented in 1995, include Alois Kracher, Dr. Bürklin Wolf, Andreas Laible., Dr. Heger, Weinrieder and Winfried Frey.
At the same time the trophy for the red wine of the year went to Château de Frausseilles for its 2004 Syrah "La Tarabelle". It prevailed in the final against top wines from Italy (Terrabianca), Austria (Franz Schindler and Toni Hartl) and Bordeaux (Chateau Maugey). The other two awards went to the Pfalz region.
The awards were conferred on Sunday, 4th November at the WEIN par Excellence event in the Alte Kelter in Fellbach where the three winners, together with the Württemberg winemaking elite and numerous prizewinners from the past two decades, presented their wines to an expert public.
Château de Frausseilles has been in the possession of Graf Ferdinand von Thun and Hohenstein for more than ten years and in that time has witnessed a sharp rise in its fortunes. Together with his friend, the distinguished oenologist Dr. Riccardo Cotarella, this aristocratic lord of the manor has set himself the goal of producing top-class red wines in this somewhat little known area on the banks of the Tarn river. Since the two took no notice whatsoever of the regulations the estate was deprived of the right to bear the name Appellation Gaillac Controlée (AOC) in 2001 as there are no longer any of the native grape varieties such as Braucol and Duras planted in the estate's vineyards. Instead, the two produce single-variety wines for laying down such as La Maze (100% Merlot), La Tarabelle (100% Syrah) and La Cabane (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) as well as blends of international stature.
The results of the work so far achieved have been continued by an ambitious Italian young wine-maker from the Médoc region, Orlando Caporro. Following successful oenology studies in Italy and almost three years work at the famous "Rollan de By" vineyard he assumed responsibility for the leadership of the team at the Domaine du Comte de Thun.Source: best-of-wine.com / 02.11.2007
Orlando Caporro assumed responsibility for the management of the "Domaine
du Comte de Thun" winery from June 2007. He takes over from the
Julia Burgmann, who is returning to Germany. After successfully concluding
his oenology degree in Italy, he worked for the "Rollan de By" winery
under oenologist Dr. Riccardo Cotarella, who produces the largest number
of Tre Bicchieri wines and is thus number one in his home country.
The "Rollan de By" winery is one of the most successful in
Médoc, having produced a large number of award-winning wines in the
last few years.
The Domaine du Comte de Thun winery, situated on the Côte du
Tarn, has been successfully producing premium quality red wines for
ten years. In the person of Orlando Caporro the winery has attracted
an oenologist who, according to Dr. Riccardo Cotarella, is one of the
most promising wine makers of the future.
Selected by Paula Bosch
In 1999 Ferdinand Graf von Thun und Hohenstein fulfilled his long-cherished wish of owning his own winery: Château Frausseilles is situated in the middle of one of France's oldest wine-growing regions, in Gaillac, north-east of Toulouse.
He won over the Italian wine maker and Merlot specialist Dr. Riccardo Cotarella for his plans to surprise the experts with a top-class red wine within a short number of years.
The most important grape varieties are Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Consistently reducing yields in the vineyard and strictly selecting which grapes to pick inevitably results in minimum quantities reaching the cellar - only about 3500 bottles of Merlot in the excellent vintage year 2001.
Due to considerable investments in the cellar, in the best oak barrels and in the vineyards and thanks to Riccardo Cotarella's commitment, qualities of red wine are emerging that I never thought possible.
My favourite, the La Maze 2001 (Merlot), is actually still far too young.
Still, I am thrilled by the opulent, "fresh" bouquet characterised by dark berries, meaty tones, oriental spices and a touch of wood. This luscious wine, with its profound and wide-ranging taste, remains long on the palate.In a few years an ideal accompaniment to game.
La Maze "Merlot"
Graf von Thun und Hohenstein,
Château de Frausseilles, Gaillac,
Frankreich, 2001;
A masculine wine
The "Château de Frausseilles" vineyard is situated between Albi and Gaillac, approx. 80 km north of Toulouse, in the climatically favoured Tarn wine-growing region, which is one of the oldest in France. The Château de Frausseilles has been in the possession of the Graf von Thun and Hohenstein since 1999. However, the estate's historical origins date back as far as the 12th century.
The Château's vineyards cover 30 hectares and are planted with the grape varieties Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The vineyards surround the chateau at an altitude of 270 m. The 2002 vintage wines are now coming onto the market.
The 2002 Cuvée Domaine de Frausseilles, produced from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, engages the taster's nose with very pleasant berry fragrances such as blackcurrant and delivers the taste that the bouquet promises. The wine still tastes quite young. The vanilla flavour from the oak barrel is present but the wine is well rounded and its components are all nicely integrated. This wine is also a little pretentious: a masculine type that is a lot of fun to drink, at least in the case of Domaine de Frausseilles, which bears the simple vin de pays classification (as the AOC Gaillac does not include Cabernet Sauvignon in its AOC varieties). In contrast, "Mon Rouge", its somewhat more expensive brother, is more likely to appeal to connoisseurs of red wines without the Cabernet component. The blend consists of Syrah and Merlot and leaves a significantly softer impression.7,90 Euro RRP (Domaine de Frausseilles)
9,90 Euro RRP (Mon Rouge)
15 points (Domaine de Frausseilles)
14,2 points (Mon Rouge)
»Wine is closely associated with the earth, the region, the history, the tradition and the personality of the wine-growing area. Only this combination of components enables me to produce wines of outstanding quality.«
Graf von Thun und Hohenstein
In the Côte du Tarn, one of the oldest wine-growing areas in the southwest of France, Graf von Thun and Hohenstein and his team at the Château de Frausseilles winery produce outstanding quality wines from the grape varieties Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The results are the top-class, award-winning, single-grape red wines La Maze, La Tarabelle and La Cabane as well as powerful, full-bodied blends and a small selection of rosés, whites and crémants to round off the range.La Maze "Merlot"
Graf von Thun und Hohenstein,
Château de Frausseilles, Gaillac,
France, 2001;
