B de Biac Cadillac 2016

blackberries, fresh Italian plums, pipe tobacco, espresso roast coffee beans and black pepper

During my last visit to Bordeaux in 2019 I had dinner at Chateau Biac, which is owned by the Asseily family. Unique to Bordeaux they are Lebanese, and treated us to an amazing dinner of dishes traditional to their homeland. The present day chateau was built in 1755 although the actual property is far older. This estate sits at the highest point in Bordeaux, along the plateau that forms the Cotes de Castillon east of Saint-Émilion, so even in Roman times it was a strategic trade route. 

The Asseily family purchased the property in 2006 and began an aggressive program of high density replanting. Today the estate has more than 10,000 vines per hectare, nearly double the average in Bordeaux. In addition, they employ Patrick Leon as their enologist, who is also the head of winemaking at Mouton-Rothschild and helped establish Opus One and Almaviva.

The blend of the 2015 is a surprising mix of 68% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Although the Castillon is close to Saint-Émilion the soils are different, as a result the wines are quite powerful and show the higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine shows dark notes of blackberries, fresh Italian plums, pipe tobacco, espresso roast coffee beans and black pepper.