For this Holiday Season, we are selling Double Magnums of Château Patache d'Aux and Château Liversan which you will find in the online shop Boutique Domaines Lapalu.

Available in different vintages (1993,1994, 1997, 1998 and 2002) and perfect for a present or a meal gathering a large number of guests, the larger formats we are offering are all packed in individual wooden cases.

The ageing of wine in this type of container is optimal, and the effect when poured is guaranteed !

After more than a month of hard work, we have just finished running off the vats.
The first Merlots are already in malolactic fermentation, some vats are even finished, while the remaining Cabernet Sauvignons are waiting for the alchemy to happen.
The high levels of malic acid for this vintage gives us hope for a fairly quick process and a relaxing of the wines.
The finished wine will go through a cold phase during one month for a natural clarification, before being put in barrels for one year.
This vintage is bright, colorful, with silky tannins. Its qualities will make sure that we forget about the small production achieved, characteristic of the 2008 vintage in Bordeaux.

Today October 13th: the weather is absolutely gorgeous. 25°C (77°F) this afternoon in Bégadan with beautiful sunshine and a light wind coming from the east, everything to remind us those beautiful summer days.

This year again, the Indian "Medocain" summer produces quality. Since September 5th, we only had 3 or 4 days of rain which halted a succession of sunny days.

The Cabernet Sauvignons, which we are harvesting, present very interesting characteristics with natural degrees around 12°5 and sumptuous colors.

The first Merlot vats are promising with an intense fruity mark and supple and concentrated tannins.

This year's anxiety comes from low quantities of grape harvested depending on parcels, sometimes lower than 30 hectoliters per hectare.

A fresh and humid spring and a flowering with occasional rain were enough to reduce the production of certain old vines parcels to half an average year.

The 2008 vintage can already be classified among the "weak quantity" harvests but also among the "best quality" harvest. This winter, after malolactic fermentations and the first blending, we'll be able to judge more precisely its hierarchy in the last twenty vintages.

On September 30th, the first merlots of Patache d'Aux were harvested.

Anthocyan and tannic levels, which we observed during sampling in the vineyard, were confirmed.

The good extractibility of the color and the pretty high degree (13° alcoholic natural strength) of this first vat confirm the harvest maturity.

The 2008 vintage seems to be rich in color, powerful and acidities are good. 

It is now the winemaker's turn to make the best of those grapes and help developing the expression of all the complexity of our Médoc and Haut-Médoc terroir.

Robert Parker has selected two of our wines in his list " Top Value Bordeaux Wines ".

"Here is a general guide for value-priced red and white Bordeaux, followed by some specific tasting notes.

Médoc and Haut Médoc :

d’Agassac, Arnauld, d’Aurilhac, Beaumont, Belle-Vue, Cambon La Pélouse, Camensac, Charmail, Citran, Coufran, d’Escurac, La Goulée, Les Grands Chênes, Greysac, Haut-Condissas, Larrivaux, Lestage, Liversan, Moulin Rouge, Les Ormes Sorbet, Patache d’Aux, Potensac, Rollan de By, Sénéjac, Soudars, La Tempérance, Tour de Haut-Moulin, Tour St.-Bonnet, La Tour Séran, Verdignan."

The 2008 harvest should start at the beginning of October.

Nature makes things right, and the capricious weather of August should be offset by the sunshine of September.

The levels of anthocyanins are higher than those of 2007, with berries substantially the same weight.

This suggests a harvest of great quality, but with volumes lower than those of past years.

Two new medals for Château Lieujean and Château Lieujean Cuvée Prestige: 

Château Lieujean Cuvée Prestige 2006 Gold Medal in Blaye

Château Lieujean 2006 Bronze Medal at the Vinalies

Decanter celebrates record number of entries

The Decanter World Wine Awards - the most influential wine competition in the world - attracted more entries this year than ever before. In total 9219 wines were entered, more than double the amount enetered than when the competation launched just five years ago.

Domaines Lapalu won again a few medals

Château Patache d'Aux 2005 Château Patache d'Aux 2006 Château Leboscq 2005 Château Lacombe Noaillac 2005

Dans le dernier ouvrage de Dominique Dumas "La Cuisine des Abats" aux Editions Sud Ouest, les vins ont été sélectionnés par Luc-Etienne Lapère , responsable du circuit traditionnel des Domaines Lapalu. Y figurent notament les Château Lacombe Noaillac et Patache d'Aux .

TETE D’AGNEAU AU FOUR

Pour 4 personnes Préparation : 10 min Cuisson : 40 min 2 têtes d’agneau fendues en 2 Ail Persil Huile d’olive Sel, poivre

Great ratings for our 2005 in the next issue of Wine Spectator !

Château Patache d'Aux Médoc Cuvée Flora 2005 : 91/100
Château Patache d'Aux Médoc 2005 : 89/100
Château Liversan Haut-Médoc Cuvée Sophie 2005 : 89/100

In its December 2007 issue, DECANTER published a list of the "Wines of the year 2007". Four wines have been awarded 5 stars Decanter; The CHATEAU PATACHE D'AUX 2004 is among them with the following tasting notes:

Intense black fruits and subtle Indian spice aromas. Juicy, ripe blackcurrants. Creamy texture with silky tannins. Bracing acidity and balance. Up to 5 years.

In its selection of French red wine, only one came from the Bordeaux region, specifically from the Medoc : PATACHE 2004 .

Another great success for the wines of Domaines Lapalu !

It's the medal season, two of our wines were rewarded !

Jean-Michel Lapalu and his team welcome you on their new website.

Translation in progress