CHATEAU BERNADOTTE - 2006 Vintage
Winter
Very cold starting in November with temperatures which went down as far as -7°C in December and January. And -1°C and -2°C at the beginning of March.
Spring
Weeps on March 15th and budburst on March 29th.
The month of May is marked by bouts of rain and bright periods.
Mid-flowering : between June 2nd for the Merlot and June 8th for the Cabernet Sauvignon. The week during the flowering of the Merlot was cold. It was followed by a very hot week during which the Cabernet Sauvignon flowered. This sequence cold, then hot caused flower abortion in all the grape varieties.
At the berry setting it was evident that flower abortion had touched between 10% and 15% of the berries.
Juillet fût caniculaire et sec. La vigne a donc souffert pendant sa période végétative, il en résulte des baies de petites tailles. L’aoûtement démarre tôt.
Mi-véraison à partir du 7 août.
Mois d’août pluvieux (12 jours de pluies plus ou moins importantes) et froid. Le 25 août il pleut 30 mm en 1 jour.
Summer
July was dry and scorching hot. The vine therefore suffered during its vegetative period. As a result, the berries are small. The lignification started early.
Mid-veraison started on August 7th.
The month of August was wet (12 days of rain of varying degrees) and cold. On August 25th almost 30 mm of rain fell on one day.
Autumn
Between the 5th and 10th of September the sun was scorching hot and burnt all the grapes that were exposed.
A ten days period of good weather at the end of September at the beginning of October allowed us to pick up in excellent conditions thanks to the commitment of our teams and thanks to the fast decision of their managers. These climatic conditions did engender a very high polyphenolic potential.
Picking started on September 21th.
Harvest ended on September 30th.

Again a very dry, particularly during the vegetative period of the vine from April to July. The results of this were a difficult assimilation of nutritive elements for the vine and a less vigorous growth. On the other hand the maturation phase started early and wiped out the heterogeneity of the different parcels. However the cocktail of drought, very high range of temperatures, heatwawe in July and cold month of August created marked disparities between the parcels. This year the grapes were fragile and the danger of botrytis was very strong. It was necessary to take prompt action at the time of the harvest.
46 % Cabernet Sauvignon
51 % Merlot
3% Petit Verdot
In-house Tasting Note
This wine is both fresh and fruity with solid tanins. It is a Haut-Medoc in a style combining modernism and tradition. Its texture will gain smoothness with ageing.
FARR VINTNERS - April 2007
FARR VINTNERS - April 2007
Always very good value for money, quality here seems to get better every year.
JANCIS ROBINSON - April 2007 - Site : www.jancisrobinson.com
16. Excellent depth of crimson. Pepper and incense on the nose – most interesting ! Thick and sweet and very much better than most Haut-Medocs. Real concentration. With the tannins extremely well managed – very glamorous indeed. Bravo ! Note of green pepper only on the very very end.
DECANTER - Steven Spurrier – June 2007
16+. Deep colour, lots of fruit in the Pauillac style, ripe and long, good future. 2012-2018.