CA Grands Crus wines to age under the sea

CA Grands Crus is immersing its wines for aging 90m under the sea close to Ouessant Island in Brittany.

CA Grands Crus, which manages Group Crédit Agricole properties, believes the sea gathers the best aging conditions for wnes.

The location was carefully selected to ensure the ageing will bring some changes to the bottle and the wine.  The main aim of the operation is to use the sea as a ‘wine cellar’, which will accelerate the maturation of the wine. The samples will rest at 90m under the sea, where there is no sunlight and the temperature is the same all year. The bottles will rest for nine to 24 months in special cases created to resist storm damage. In order to have the best conservation conditions, all the bottles will be sealed with wax.

Several wines from CA Grands Crus will age under the sea:
Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 2011 – 5ème Grand Cru Classé en 1855, Pauillac
Château Meyney 2011 – Saint-Estèphe
Château de Rayne Vigneau 2011 – 1er Grand Cru Classé, Sauternes
Château La Tour de Mons 2011 – Margaux
Château Blaignan 2011 – Médoc
Château de Santenay – Mercurey 2013 blanc
Château de Santenay – Saint-Aubin En Vesvau 2013 blanc
Château de Santenay – Mercurey 1er Cru les Puillets 2013 rouge
Château de Santenay – Aloxe-Corton 2013 rouge

At the end of the immersion, a wine tasting will be organised to compare the reseults of the ageing process under the sea with wines aged in the Château cellars. 

Amphoris, a company created in 2014, by specialist offshore and submarine operations engineers Denis Drouin and Pierre Recoules, is managing the immersion of wine and Champagne bottles in the ocean. 

22 July 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor