CHÂTEAU CHARMAIL
2015 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Haut Médoc
This has more of the round body and richness of the vintages of five and more years ago than any of the more recent ones. Solidly satisfying, still fleshy and round, nothing flashy but good density and length. Rating: 88-89 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
A sleeper of the vintage, the 2015 Charmail has turned out beautifully. The interplay of intense dark fruit and savory notes yields an expressive Haut-Médoc of character and distinction. Best of all, the 2015 is a superb value. The blend is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 13% Petit Verdot. Drinking range: 2017 - 2025 Rating: 90 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2018)
The 2015 Charmail is a blend of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 13% Petit Verdot that was picked by hand, the first under Hubert de Boüard's consultation. It has a slightly candied bouquet with dark plum, raspberry coulis and floral scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine, grainy texture, crisp tannin and lively black fruit with a tensile finish that bodes well for the future. Again, this is worth seeking out after bottling. Drink: 2019 - 2030 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
Rather pretty dark fruits here, fresh and bright, with a rather crystalline character, loose and openly expressed. The palate follows on from this early suggestion, as although the fruit here is dark and toasted the texture is quartzy and gravelly, with a rather firm and stony cut to it, and not too much in the way of generosity. In the finish, there comes a sudden flourish of mildly spiky tannins. This is set to be rather austere I think. Rating: 14-15/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Particularly dark crimson. Sweet and dense. Very ripe and attention-grabbing. A charmer indeed. Drinking range: 2021 - 2028 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
Good Cabernet-Merlot blend showing both flesh and charm. A very attractive wine. Drinking range: 2019 - 2026 Rating: 88 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Charmail is gorgeous. Deep and wonderfully nuanced, the Charmail shows that strong wines could indeed be made in the Haut-Médoc in 2015. Sweet tobacco, menthol and licorice add nuance to the dark stone fruit flavors in this attractive, mid-weight offering. The blend is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 13% Petit Verdot. Rating: 88-90 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
Delicious red with chocolate and blackberry character. Medium to full body, velvety tannins. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)
Château Charmail
The name Charmail comes from its 16th century origins, when the Trevey de Charmail family settled in the Medoc. It's a property on classic Médoc gravel and clay, of about 27.5 hectares, sitting high up and overlooking the Gironde.
Olivier Sèze bought Charmail in 1982. A leader in many ways, both in viticulture and in winemaking, he developed a process of pre-fermentation cold maceration, still used here now, which produces deeper coloured, fatter wines with soft tannins and this, along with the relatively high proportion of Merlot for the Haut-Médoc (50%), gives wines that are ready to drink within 4 to 6 years of the vintage. It also seems to make Charmail a fairly good bet in lesser vintages. The grapes are all hand-harvested and the wine is aged in barrel for 12 months.
In 2008 Bernard d’Halluin bought Charmail, and it was agreed that Olivier should continue to work there and be part of the new team, in charge of the winemaking. Bernard's daughter Marie has taken charge of the presentation and marketing.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.