CHÂTEAU TOUR DE YON, St.Emilion Grand Cru

Union de Producteurs de Saint-Émilion is a cooperative wine group in Bordeaux producing a range of red wines. These are based mainly on the Merlot grape, which is sourced from 750 hectares (1850 acres) of Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru vineyards. The cooperative was founded in 1931 during a period of economic depression. The main instigator was Robert Villepigue, who had managed Château Figeac from 1905-1928, and who later owned Château Cadet...

Union de Producteurs de Saint-Émilion is a cooperative wine group in Bordeaux producing a range of red wines. These are based mainly on the Merlot grape, which is sourced from 750 hectares (1850 acres) of Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru vineyards. The cooperative was founded in 1931 during a period of economic depression. The main instigator was Robert Villepigue, who had managed Château Figeac from 1905-1928, and who later owned Château Cadet Piola. To begin with, there were just six member estates but today there are nearer 170, and the Union is responsible for around 12 percent of all production from Saint-Émilion. In 2003, Union de Producteurs constructed a new gravity-flow cellar, featuring 141 stainless steel vats. It is the largest facility of its type in Europe, and also has hi-tech optical sorting equipment, eight large vertical presses and a cellar housing 5000 barrels. Union de Producteurs has an extensive portfolio of brands and separately vinified château wines, including châteaux Le Loup, Viramiere and Galius. The company's annual production reaches 4,600,000 bottles.

Situated on the right bank of Bordeaux, the region of Saint-Émilion can boast of producing the most diverse range of styles, partly due to differences in soil types, from gravel to limestone to sand, but also thanks to production variations and winemakers looking to make their mark The best Saint-Émilion wines will exhibit a terrific mineral vein, the result of vines being planted on the region's limestone escarpment. Vines planted on sandy soils tend to...

Situated on the right bank of Bordeaux, the region of Saint-Émilion can boast of producing the most diverse range of styles, partly due to differences in soil types, from gravel to limestone to sand, but also thanks to production variations and winemakers looking to make their mark The best Saint-Émilion wines will exhibit a terrific mineral vein, the result of vines being planted on the region's limestone escarpment. Vines planted on sandy soils tend to produce grapes that make lighter styled wines.

A Bordeaux Blend, at its most basic, is any combination of those grape varieties typically used to make the red wines of Bordeaux. The phrase, which seems to have originated with British wine merchants in the 19th Century, relates as much to wines made from the blend as to the grape variety combination itself (© Copyright material, Wine-Searcher.com). Far from being an officially defined or legal term, it is almost never used for wine-labeling purposes...

A Bordeaux Blend, at its most basic, is any combination of those grape varieties typically used to make the red wines of Bordeaux. The phrase, which seems to have originated with British wine merchants in the 19th Century, relates as much to wines made from the blend as to the grape variety combination itself (© Copyright material, Wine-Searcher.com). Far from being an officially defined or legal term, it is almost never used for wine-labeling purposes (although it occasionally appears on back labels). Its equivalent in the United States is Meritage, which is not only legally defined, but also a registered trademark. Red Bordeaux Blends are known for their powerful structure and deep flavors. Dark fruits and berries such as plum and blackcurrant are commonly used to describe the flavors of red Bordeaux, although there is an unlimited range of terms that have been ascribed to them. Tannins tend to be relatively high in these wines, giving them a firm structure.