Chateau Durfort-Vivens 2009 Margaux Second Growths Grand Cru Classe 《Terroir Collection - TF532C》

🌍 Region : Margaux, Bordeaux, France

🍇 Grape Varieties : 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc

🍷 Alcohol :  13.5%

Website: http://www.durfort-vivens.fr/en/our-wines.aspx

🌟 Second growth which coming back at recent years

🌟 2009 first vintage of biodynamic farming

🌟 2016 first Margaux with Demeter biodynamic cert

🌟 The drop of gods episode 16 recommended

🌟 Partially Amphora ferment

🏅 James Suckling 93

🏅 Jancis Robinson 17/20

🏅 Wine Spectator 90

🏅 Decanter 96

Owner：Gonzague Lurton

History

FOUR CENTURIES LATER

Four centuries later, Viscount Robert Labat de Vivens, a friend of Montequieu and himself  famous for his research works on the chocking with mud and litter of the Garonne and the Gironde, inherited the estate of the lords of Duras  to which he gave his name. ….Château  Durfort-Vivens was born....The year was 1824.

A FLOURISHING CENTURY

The XIX th century was to be a flourishing century ;  classified in 1787 just behind such  châteaux as  Latour, Lafitte and Margaux, the 1844 vintage year was to sell at a higher price than its peers.This classification which took into account the positions secured by those vineyards, foretold the official one of 1855.Proven and approved quality, since in 1937 it was bought by Chateau Margaux, whose main shareholder is none other than the Lurton family ...In 1961 Durfort-Vivens became the entire property of Lucien Lurton, who gave it to his son Gonzague in 1992. 

1855, THE YEAR OF THE BORDEAUX UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION

The Emperor Napoleon III asks each French region to highlight its treasures, the nature of its own. This is the time for Bordeaux to highlight the famous and prestigious wines mentioned by Thomas Jefferson during his visit in Bordeaux a few years earlier ... As wine experts, wine brokers thus establish a ranking, endorsing the traditions and customs of the time according to the ranking those vintage wines already had occupied on the market.

Only present, are classified wines of the left bank, regions Médoc, Sauternes and Barsac, as well as Graves.

This is how our château Durfort-Vivens was raised to the ranking of second classified growth, 5th in its rank. A century later this classification, is indeed present and has never been so close to its origin ... It is a historical and living testimony of the quest for quality of the greatest wines of Bordeaux. It is also an honor and a duty for its members.

THE TERROIR

The Margaux appellation covers 1,5000 ha.

21 properties were graded in 1855, making Margaux the most prolific Médoc communal appellations.

The vineyards of château Durford-Vivens are cultivated on 3 administrative areas : Margaux, Cantenac and Soussans.

How can their charcteristics be defined ?

What best identifies the Durfort-Vivens wines ?

Four elements are the components of the definition of a terroir.

The soil 

It is made of  hilltops of deep, poor gravels and so that it  is perfectly draining,  which favours a deep rooting of the plants and consequetly  the concentration of the fruit.

The Climate

The fine mix of the air currents  from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde blesses it with  water vapour and the shelter provided by the Landes forest makes it temperate. It is a mild and wet oceanic climate allowing temeratures to undergo  moderate changes.

The grape varieties

Among those authorized at Margaux are :  Cabernet-Sauvignon , the  typical Médoc vine covering more than half of  the cultivated surfaces, it provides  the wine with its structure and its ageing potentialities ;  Merlot with  its roundness and smoothness ; Cabernet-franc with spicy aromas and ageing potentialities ; Petit-Verdot  with a slight liveliness ;  Cot Carménère  are very rare. Durfort-Vivens is the fruit of the blending of Cabernet-Sauvignon ( 41% ), Petit-Verdot (6%), and Cabernet -franc (2%).

The part of Men

The key words here are adaptation to the environment and constant self-questioning, respect of the topography, the pedology, the right grape varieties . They are the links that give an orientation  as for  the nature of the vintage by keeping close to all the aspec ts of its culture.

BIODYNAMICS

As a worthy heir to a family of  defenders of the vineyards whatever the changing  fashions and respectful of the ground, a purist in his soul, attentively following the advances in oenology and technical research, Gonzague Lurton  applies himself to revealing the terroir, in a constant search of its protection and respect,  attempting  at extracting  the marrow of its bones. He was one of the pioneers of « integrated fight » and in 2009 he made the choice of a progressive conversion of the estate to biodynamic farming. The certification by the DEMETER organism was obtained in 2016.

Here at Durfort-Vivens it is a long time since they  understood that the wine  is the child to the vine. Therefore the respect of the soil and the subsoil and the  efforts to preserve them ; thanks to ploughing and a controlled use of manure, the microbiological life of the soil is respected, so doing revealing the exceptionnal terroir which is ours.

THE WINEMAKING

Renovated in 2012  by architect Fabien Pedelaborde,  the winery has been significantly enlarged ; the wines of château Durfort-Vivens are now vinified in wooden and concrete vats.

THE WINERY

The thank is similar to a case for a purple gold nugget, that flows and gradually takes shape over time. The tank is the essential ally of a great wine.The philosophy of a symbiotic alliance with living matter becoming a jewel of goldsmith. finds here its meaning ... Precision in the choice of containers, from their capacity to their material, wood or concrete ; the wine needs an almost carnal exchange with the ambient air.

THE AGING

From one process to another, the red thread here seems to be the repect of matter ... plant and the fruit. Little by little, from juice to nectar and finally becoming the embryo of a great vintage... As a living being, the wine is born, grows up, evolves, passing from youth to teenager and then to adulthood in a time of about 18 months ...

There, in the silence of the cellars, the time accomplishes its work ... The cherry is revealed like a nectar with a silky pulp. The blackcurrant becomes dark and the violet, which is the quintessence of the characteristic aromas of this vintage, leaves a sweet scent of spring .

🏅 James Suckling 93 points：

Loads of sweet tobacco and berry character, with hints of chocolate on the nose. Full body, with meat and earth. Juicy finish. Tannins build on the finish. Try this in 2018.