A great wine is due to the harmonious combination of terroir and human expertise. Nowhere is this more true than at Rol Valentin, a vineyard that is well worth the challenge, the reflection, and the patience necessary to make a great wine. Grown on two different types of soil, this wine calls for precise, knowledgeable vineyard management all year round. We carefully monitored the vines and identified eleven separate plots. Each has its own special characteristics, requiring specific attention in order to produce the purest, ripest fruit possible. Great care is taken to harvest and ferment grapes from every plot separately. The cellar has eleven wooden vats to house the new vintage. The winemaking philosophy at Rol Valentin is to be in close touch with the wine, and to encourage it to ferment as gently and as naturally as possible. The combination of sand and clay-limestone soil creates an excellent balance between power and elegance. Stéphane Derenoncourt, consulting oenologist at Château Rol Valentin VINTAGE 1997 TASTING NOTES by Robert Parker The 1997 vintage seems to be slightly more concentrated than the 1996. Bold, crimson colour. Impressively rich, with good extraction. Discreet, but promising, bouquet with complex blackberry and vanilla aromas. Deep flavours and average body. More tannic and oaky than the 1996. A rich Saint-Emilion which needs to be aged for a few years. Best enjoyed between 2003 and 2016. 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000