A Few Bordeaux Wines In Stock

CHATEAU TOUR de MIRAMBEAU

The Despagne family owns a hand-full of estates in Bordeaux and their wines have been gaining great attention from the French wine media.  

This estate is located in Naujan-et-Postiac, pretty close to Libourne.  Actually, the Despagnes own a handful of estates in the region and all are over-achievers.

 

  


Tour de Mirambeau has been in the family for eight generations and they trace their ownership of this back to just before the American Revolution.

Thibault Despagne and his sister Basaline run the place and their vineyard holdings have expanded over the past decade, or so.

 

And they have some old vines, too:

In the winter, of course, when the vines are dormant, they cut them back which helps determine the crop size for the next vintage.

 

 

The cellar at Tour de Mirambeau.

 

 

Previous vintages have gotten great accolades in the Guide Hachette and the wine is deserving of praise.  About 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon (40 year old vines), the 2014 Cuvee Passion (used to be labeled "Grand Vin" until recently) shows a lovely black fruit fragrance, a touch of an herbal note and some cedary, woodsy notes from its maturation in oak.  Though it will certainly soften with additional bottle aging, this is perfectly drinkable right now, especially with a grilled steak or rack of lamb. 

They make a pretty good white version, which we've routinely offered.  Presently the importer is considering whether or not to bring a new vintage, as so many young somms and wine buyers for stores seem to forget there are good wines in Bordeaux (apart from the top, famous estates).




A side note:  Some producers from Europe were visiting and they had some Bordeaux wines which struck me as over-priced.  I mentioned we liked the wines from the Despagne family and they nodded, agreeing the wines are good.  Since they arrive directly, the prices are especially reasonable, so these people knew they'd been "aced" out in terms of quality and value.


CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE DESPAGNE WINERY AND "LUNCH".

Currently in stock:  2014 Bordeaux Supérieur "Cuvee Passion" $26.99

 

 

 

 

CHÂTEAU GLORIA

This estate has long been a favorite of Americans as the name is easier to pronounce than numerous other wineries in Bordeaux.  It doesn't hurt that the wine is typically pretty good and the price is usually within the realm of reason.

The late Henri Martin, who died in the early 1990s, lobbied endlessly for Château Gloria to be included on the list of "classified" estates in the Medoc.  His argument was a good one:  the property consists of parcels which had all been pieces of other classified estates (Château Léoville-Poyferre, Château Gruaud Larose, Château St Pierre and even Château Duhart Milon, a Pauillac estate that owned a patch in Saint Julien at one time).  Unfortunately for Hank, these parcels would take on the classification of the new owner.  Had Leoville Las Cases purchased these, they'd suddenly be considered as a second growth.  Since Monsieur Martin was not the owner of a classified estate at that moment, the parcels lost their "nobility", so to speak.  

Today the estate comprises something close to 47 hectares.  It's about two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, one quarter Merlot with a small percentage of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.  It's run by Martin's son-in-law, Jean-Louis Triaud who also runs the classified growth of a neighboring property, Château Saint-Pierre.

The wine is not the most flashy or compelling Saint Julien, but it is reliably good and recent vintages suggest the estate is intent on improving (even though it's already at a pretty good level of quality).

The 2012 is about two-thirds Cabernet with a healthy amount of Merlot and a bit of Petit Verdot.  The wine was matured in something like 40% new oak, so there's a nicely woodsy note to frame the dark fruit.
It's quite good presently and probably can go another decade, or so, in bottle.

 

Currently in stock: 
 CHÂTEAU GLORIA 2012 SALE $54.99

 

 

 

CHATEAU LESTRILLE-CAPMARTIN
2015 Bordeaux Supérieur $16.99 

Jean-Louis Roumage owns this property and makes a range of wines. Wine guru Michel Rolland's lab is hired to run lab analysis of the wines here, though I'm not sure he makes too many suggestions regarding the wines.

 

 We're partial to his/her 2015 "Cuvée Tradition," a wine which spent a year in oak.  This is one of the best "Under 20- buck Merlot" wines you can buy, easily more complex than any of the watery California Merlots in a similar price range.  It's become a "by-the-case" wine for many customers, testimony to its quality and value.
The wine is something like 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and it sees some time in small oak barrels to smooth the tannins.

One aspect of the Lestrille wines is that they are remarkably consistent, vintage to vintage.

Our late colleague Bob Gorman observed that while so many Bordeaux wineries have ups and downs according to the vintage and growing season, the wines of Lestrille Capmartin are routinely good and it's difficult to say "this vintage isn't quite as good as the previous year."  

Thanks to an importer who prices the wines according to the cost from the winery (and not based upon how much he can get people to pay for them),the wines of Lestrille arrive at a good price for the consumer.

 

Estelle in 2011

 

They are big supporter of local artisans, too.  On a recent visit, there were dozens of interesting pieces on display and for sale.

 

The red spends a fair bit of time in new oak and it's a remarkably good bottle arriving here at less than $20.


White wine has improved dramatically at Lestrille over the past half a dozen years.  And it's perfect when paired with shrimp, oysters or crab.

 

The entire range is impressive.
And price-worthy.



In the cellar at Lestrille-Capmartin.



This "watering can" is used to top up the barrels, keeping them full and preventing the wine from being exposed to air.


Jean Louis and his daughter Estelle.


Corks.

CHÂTEAU CHAVRIGNAC

The Bouron family owned about 32 hectares of vineyards in the Entre-Deux-Mers region, some 45 miles southeast of Margaux and maybe 25 miles south (and a tad to the east) of Pomerol.  These days you can find all sorts of vintners who tell you about their embracing organic farming or, even more "organic," biodynamic viticulture.  Typically these are fairly recent developments, as wineries use this to help market their products.

But the Bourons have been farming organically since the Dark Ages (practically).  They began in 1964 and not too long ago were certified as "biodynamic."  With the passing of Daniel Bouron in 2014, the estate was purchased by a neighboring winemaker named Gérard Lobre, who continues the farming techniques of the founding family.

We are delighted when someone farms responsibly and with an eye towards being environmentally-friendly.  But frankly, many wines sold as somehow being more "wholesome" often miss the mark in terms of quality.  As we are writing this, we just had a taste of some wines which, we were told, come from organically-farmed vineyards.  And the wines were real stinkers in every sense of the term.  Dirty, smelly, swampy...and we wondered why the importer would choose to buy such poor wines.

As our late colleague Bob Gorman used to say (in his inimitable French) "Shock uuhn son goo!"

We're not much for many of the wines where the marketing of their being "organic" takes center stage.  And we wonder, as we asked the sales rep of one importer, "Do the owners of your company actually taste the wines they're bringing in BEFORE they buy them?"  


We want to know "Are the wines any good?  Are they well-made, delicious and affordable?"

We tasted this Chavrignac 2018 and found the wine to be quite good and well-priced.  And then, on top of that, it's from a winery which farms organically and then some.

Merlot and Cabernet Franc comprise a significant percentage of the blend, but we're told there's Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot in this wine as well.  It's remarkably dark in color and displays a nice touch of a cedary note to frame the black fruit aromas and flavors.  Despite its youth, the wine is quite drinkable now and it should cellar well for a few more years.  

Currently in stock:  CHÂTEAU CHAVRIGNAC 2018 BORDEAUX $17.99

 

CHATEAU HAUT-BANA

The Medoc has vineyards all over the place and there are some good values in the areas north of Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe where this marvelous bottle comes from.

It's a wine made by Philippe Berard, whose family has long cultivated vineyards and raised cattle in the northern Medoc.

Our late colleague Bob was surprised to learn President Obama had invested in a winery in Bordeaux.  But he forgotten to put new batteries in his hearing aids.  It's "Haut Bana, not Obama, Bob."

We've tasted several vintages from this guy and he clearly knows how to make a stylish little Bordeaux and he sells it for honest money.

Now it's not a wine in the same league with hugely prestigious neighbors such as Latour, Lafite or Mouton and, thankfully, it costs pennies to their dollars.  But you will recognize the wine as coming from Bordeaux and you may even recognize it as a pretty good Medoc wine.  The vineyards are located about 15 kilometers north and a tad west of St. Estèphe.  

The vineyard has a fairly high percentage of Merlot and the wine shows some nicely plummy red and black fruits with a lightly cedary note from the oak aging.  Six months in wood have rounded out the wine.  The vines are roughly 30+ years of age on average.

We have the 2016 vintage in the shop presently...it's a medium-bodied red and, owing to the high percentage of Merlot, it's quite drinkable in its youth.  

Currently in stock: 2016 CHATEAU HAUT-BANA Medoc $17.99

CHATEAU SAINT AUBIN

One of our French connections was interested to scope out affordable wines from the highly-regarded 2010 vintage in Bordeaux and came back with this lovely wine.

The Chateau Saint Aubin (not to be confused with the Burgundy wines of St. Aubin) is situated about a 45 minute ride north of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.  

In the 1700s, the estate was devoted to raising horses and it was some sort of equine training school.  Today, though, it's all about viticulture and enology, as they've been making wine sine the 1870s, or so.

The wine of this estate is made with the idea of being drinkable in its youth and so you need not cellar this for a decade to be able to enjoy it.  

The sandy, gravelly soils are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and they even have a few rows of Carmenere.  The wine is aged in small oak barrels, with about 15% of the cooperage being brand new.  The wines of this estate are best known in Germany and Belgium as they've not been exporting much to the USA market.

We like the dark plum notes of the ripe fruit of the 2016 vintage.  You can sense the bit of cedary oak here, too and the tannins are supple and round.  It's a delightful twenty-buck bottle of Bordeaux.

 

Currently in stock:  2016 CHATEAU SAINT-AUBIN Medoc  $19.99

 

 

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