2001 Teyssier (Saint-Émilion)

This is the "easy-drinking" wine in owner Jonathan Maltus' portfolio of St. Emilion bottlings, which also includes Laforge and Le Dome. The crop level was low in 2003, owing to millerandage and the effects of a hailstorm during VinExpo in June, and the blend includes a relatively high 85% merlot.

Owner Jonathan Maltus arrived here from Nigeria in 1994, purchasing 5-1/2 hectares of vines in St. Sulpice de Faleyrans (south of the town of St. Emilion), the remnants of a large estate called Teyssier that was originally established in 18th century. Subsequently, Maltus bought more land to increas production of Teyssier, then introduced a second wine, Laforge, following a purchase in 1998 of vines on gravelly soil near Monbousquet and a clay-and-chalk parcel at the top of the village of St. Emilion. His super-cuvee Le Dome comes from a small, well-drained plot located between Angelus and Grand-Mayne. The wines get a three or four day cold soak at 16oC; Teyssier is fermented in stainless steel while Laforge and Le Dome are made in wood cuves The wine is pumped over while it's still warm, with two delestages also used for extraction; Maltus practices pigeages only at the end of the fermentation. In Maltus' small, high-tech winery, there are no must pumps; movement of the wine is done by conveyors. Maltus keeps seven liters of lees per barrel, and Laforge and Le Dome have been getting considerable batonnage Maltus, who spends part of the year overseeing a project in Australia, has increased production in recent vintages through his purchases of vineyard acreage around St. Emilion, and thus his wines are in the process of becoming more widely available in the U.S. market.