With four of these wines on tasting this Thursday and Friday
"Bordeaux is often criticized for charging a king’s ransom for its top wines. In reality, it is a vast cradle of quality that can offer unbeatable value, depending on how far you are willing to venture beyond the famous names."
Neal Martin, vinous.com, Jan 2021
As our 2022 Bordeaux en primeur campaign draws to an end, we’ve been thinking about everyday drinking Claret. At the very top end of Bordeaux there are some spectacularly expensive bottles, which can age for decades (and often need to, if you want to drink them at their best). It’s easy to forget about the wines produced here that are intended for earlier enjoyment, which also sit at much friendlier price points. We’ve put together a mixed case of Bordeaux bargains which shows the value that can be found by looking beyond the big names. We maintain that Bordeaux offers high-quality wines at every price level.
The case contains one bottle each of:
2019 Maine Gazin: Petit Verdot can bring serious quality and depth to a blend. But it is a difficult grape variety to cultivate, which makes it expensive to produce. I do not know how they managed to get 20% Petit Verdot into such an economically priced bottle, but the results punch way above the price point.
2019 Capbern: under the same ownership with the same winemaking team as the esteemed Calon-Ségur, this excellent St-Estèphe has long been a wine trade insider secret.
2018 La Loubière: from Entre-Deux-Mers and just to the south of St-Émilion, 2018 La Loubière opens on black fruit (blackcurrant, blackcherry) before moving on to more savoury notes. Surprisingly serious for its accessible price point.
2018 de La Dauphine: fully biodynamic and with some top terroir, de la Dauphine is easily one of Fronsac’s top properties. Lovely notes of tobacco and Chinese spice.
2018 Dalem: ‘making a fine wine is goldsmith’s work, with each step bringing extra precision,’ says Brigitte Rullier-Loussert, owner of Fronsac property Dalem. It is a philosophy amply put into practice in the way she manages complicated vineyards of diverse ages across different soil types.
2018 L`Hetre: from none other than Jacques Thienpont, the man who makes Le Pin. Jacques has tracked down some top terroir in the Côtes de Castillon and used it to make L`Hetre (‘the yew’), continuing the ‘family tree’ motif he began with Le Pin, ‘the pine’.
2017 Raison d`Hetre: the punningly-named second wine from Jacques Thienpont’s L’Hetre. Raison d’Hetre is more sappy and mouth-filling than the structured, serious L’Hetre. The two wines come from a clear plot selection, with the vines for L'Hêtre up on the plateau, and the vines for Raison d`Hêtre on the slopes leading off.
2016 Deyrem Valentin: a gem from the storied 2016 Bordeaux vintage, this Margaux competes with many classed growths for a lot less money. It is full of the floral aromatics that are quintessential Margaux.
2014 Lanessan: this Haut-Médoc property has excellent terroir only just outside St-Julien, and narrowly missed inclusion in the 1855 classification. Thyme and oregano notes complement the red berry fruit character: a wine that is getting softer and more accessible with the end of its first decade.
2014 Serilhan: ‘Sérilhan is a Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois Supérieur that has consistently furnished Bordeaux lovers with superb wines’: Neal Martin says it all so I don’t have to. Nine years from vintage, the 2014 is mellowing nicely.
2014 Guibot La Fourvieille: ‘Yesterday was already tomorrow,’ says owner Brigitte Emile at Chateau Guibot La Fourvieille. Transitioning to organics has brought her back to the way her great-grandfather worked the vineyards: ‘On the one hand this has brought us more stress. But our wine is better, balanced and more elegant.’ A lovely demonstration of the value to be found in Puisseguin-St-Émilion, a satellite appellation of St-Émilion proper.
2009 Larrivaux: in its 400 years of history, Chateau Larrivaux has only ever been owned by women. These days it is Berangère Tesseron running the show, together with her mum and her aunt. The 2009 complements the fleshy, succulent character of the vintage with tannins mellowed by maturity and incipient tertiary notes. /DS
Offered subject to remaining unsold
