‘When the seagulls follow a trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.’ – Eric Cantona
CA Grands Crus – whose châteaux collection features Bordeaux properties, Château de Rayne Vigneau (first growth Sauternes), Château Grand-Puy Ducasse (fifth growth Pauillac) and Château Blaignan (Médoc, Bourgeois), as well as Château de Santenay (which includes Mercurey, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune 1er Cru and Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy), and Château Saint Louis La Perdrix (Rhône) recently collaborated with Brest-based Amphoris to create a cellar 90 metres below the waves of the Atlantic.
Sealed with a special sealing wax and sunk below the limits of human free diving, the precious bottles slumber in what Amphoris, which was created by submarine and offshore specialist engineers, Denis Drouin and Pierre Recoules, terms ‘perfect environmental conditions’ for up-to two years. Wines, drawn from seven properties, range from classed Pauillac (Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2011) to Margaux (Château La Tour de Mons 2011) to Saint-Aubin from Château de Santenay.
At the end of the immersion, a wine tasting will reveal the nuances between the sea-stowed bottles and those kept in normal conditions on dry land.
Although it may be tempting to dismiss underwater ageing as a gimmick, the process has attracted positive criticism. Of it, Winerist wrote, ‘the sceptics out there think that aging wine this way is a marketing ploy, but the evidence says wines aged underwater evolve very slowly allowing secondary and tertiary aromas to come through over primary ones.’
CA Grands Crus full holdings
Bordeaux :
– Château de Rayne Vigneau, 1er Grand Cru Classé, Sauternes
– Château Grand-Puy Ducasse, Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac
– Château Meyney, Saint-Estèphe
– Château La Tour de Mons, Cru Bourgeois, Margaux
– Château Blaignan, Cru Bourgeois, Médoc
– Clos Saint-Vincent, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Burgundy
– Château de Santenay, Grands Vins de Bourgogne
Rhône :
– Château Saint-Louis la Perdrix, Costières de Nîmes
