Château Corbin
Château Corbin is a property with a very long history. as it was reputedly part of a stronghold of the Black Prince in the fifteenth century. The current château was built in the ninteenth century. The vineyard is small - a single plot of about 13 hectares on the edge of the Pomerol and Saint Emlilion boundary. There are two distinct soil types - sandy soil over a base of 'crasse de fer' or ferruginous clay (the soil that is famous in Pomerol) and the classic clay of the Saint Emilion plateau which give the underlying power. It is planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet is the fourth generation of the Cruse family, who bought this ancient property in 1924. A graduate in oenology from Bordeaux University, she is no mere figurehead (even though she makes a very elegant one). With the help of consultant Jean-Philippe Fort she is making better and better wines. The 2009 was already elegantly eye-catching in what can be a rather loud parade in Saint Emilion, and the 2010 is as defined as Chanel but somehow as relaxed as a country weekend. This is control by absence of intervention, picking ripe grapes, selecting the best plots, ageing in barrel for between 16 and 18 months. The result is a wine with an unstressed, natural feel, and a frank and open balance.