Grape variety profiles

We continue our overview of Bordeaux’s forgotten grape varieties. Focus today on Saint-Macaire. Yesterday we praised the magnificent upright habit of Jurançon noir. The same cannot be said for Saint-Macaire, with its very bushy growth. Its vigour is strong, and this year we were able to observe up to three shoots emerging from the same bud, with up to three bunches per shoot. If left unchecked, we could end up with around thirty bunches here, and the bunch is rather large once ripe. Suffice to say, we will have to thin them out and keep only one shoot per bud. 10 to 12 bunches will be more than enough for us. At harvest time, the bunches are bursting with sugar, and the juice is thick and sticky. This is what gave it the local name of *moustouzère*, coming from *moustou*, which is used in local dialect to describe the sticky face of a child who has smeared jam all over it. Saint-Macaire is a magnificent grape variety that needs to be tamed to ensure a reasonable yield, but the result is well worth the effort: stunning! It is essential to the blend of our cuvée ‘Comme en 1900’!