Bordeaux

Château Le Puy - famille Amoreau

• The wine goes to sea: Jean-Pierre Amoreau, a sailing enthusiast, sent barriques from the “Barthélémy” cuvée across the Atlantic and back via the Caribbean.
• Transatlantic maturation: The wine thus continues maturing at sea for eight to ten months before becoming “Retour des Îles”. The route and duration vary between voyages; the 2018 vintage is documented as Vin de France.
• A comparison in the glass: In Terre de Vins’ side-by-side tasting of the 2018s, Retour des Îles had a more velvety, longer texture and a saline finish alongside Barthélémy’s candied-cherry fruit.

Château Ausone

Bordeaux · Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

• Cabernet Franc above the limestone cellars: Ausone’s vineyard is planted mainly with Cabernet Franc and overlooks cellars cut into limestone, used for ageing since the eighteenth century. Young vines go into Chapelle d’Ausone; the grand vin carries the château’s name.
• Château Ausone: Power and round, precise fruit lead into a long sensation of freshness. The wine retains a fine, elegant touch.
• A name adopted in the sixteenth century: At the end of the sixteenth century, the estate took the name of Ausone, the Latin poet from Bordeaux who celebrated the vine. The tribute still accompanies its Saint-Émilion grand vin.

Château Climens

Bordeaux · Barsac

• Balance before richness: In 2009, the Climens grapes concentrated so quickly that the team brought together different stages of noble-rot ripeness to preserve balance. The episode reminds us that a great sweet wine is not judged by its sugar richness alone.
• Barsac in pure Sémillon: ‘Château Climens’, classified Premier Cru in 1855, is made entirely from Sémillon grown on Barsac’s limestone. Harvest waits for noble rot, a fungus that causes the berries to lose water and concentrates their juice.
• A sweet wine carried by freshness: ‘Château Climens’ 2023 shows a clear, elegant, balanced profile, with brilliant freshness.

Château Figeac

Bordeaux · Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

• He came for one year: In 1947, agricultural engineer Thierry Manoncourt arrived at Figeac to help his parents for a year. He would devote his life to it, notably choosing the distinctive mix of grape varieties that shapes the château’s style.
• Saint-Émilion’s two Cabernets: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc together occupy around two-thirds of the vineyard, alongside Merlot. Planted on three gravel rises, these three varieties form the signature of Figeac’s grand vin.
• The velvet of a mature wine: ‘Château-Figeac’ 1995: jammy black fruit, roasted coffee and truffle, with velvety tannins and freshness that balances the wine’s depth.

Château Haut-Brion

Bordeaux · Pessac-Léognan

• Protecting the fruit in 2020: During the heat and dry weather of 2020, Haut-Brion reduced leaf removal to shade the bunches and preserve aromatic freshness. The red blend brought together 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc.
• Château Haut-Brion red 2020: Ripe fruit and spice accompany a focused, precise attack, followed by full, juicy tannins that extend the wine’s presence.
• A Graves name known in London: Samuel Pepys recorded the distinctive flavour of “Ho Bryan” in 1663, long before the 1855 classification. In 1666, the de Pontac family opened the Pontack’s Head tavern in London to serve its wine and extend its reputation. This historic Graves red now carries the Pessac-Léognan appellation.

Château Lafite Rothschild

Bordeaux · Pauillac

• Selecting the grand vin: Lafite’s Pauillac grand vin is usually led by Cabernet Sauvignon. Only vines older than ten years enter the selection, and each barrel is tasted before the final blend is decided. The wine is defined by precision, delicacy and finesse as well as presence on the palate.
• Lafite and the Rothschilds: Lafite was classified Premier Cru in 1855 and entered the Rothschild family in 1868. The grand vin has carried both names ever since.
• A prized gift in 1788: The Bordeaux chamber of commerce thanked Abbé Morellet with a barrel of Lafite 1784 in 1788, a sign of the wine’s established reputation before either the classification or the Rothschild era.

Château Latour

Bordeaux · Pauillac

• The old vines of the Enclos: The ‘Grand Vin de Château Latour’ comes exclusively from the old vines of the Enclos, the historic vineyard around the château. Selection takes place within its 47 hectares: this heart of the estate gives the grand vin its identity.
• Ageing before release: From the 2012 vintage onwards, Latour has kept its wines at the château for longer before release. The estate describes eight to ten years for the grand vin, aiming to offer a wine beginning to be ready to drink while retaining further ageing potential.
• Depth and a long evolution: Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Grand Vin de Château Latour. Depth, concentration and powerful structure support development over several decades in great vintages; the tannins gradually integrate as the bouquet becomes more complex.

Château Léoville Las Cases

Bordeaux · Saint-Julien

• Heir to the great Léoville estate: When the former Léoville estate was divided between 1826 and 1840, Las Cases retained three-fifths and its historic heart. This origin explains the extent of the clos behind its famous gate.
• A clos at the gates of Pauillac: The clos covers around 55 hectares up to the boundary with Château Latour. The ‘Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases’ comes mainly from this Saint-Julien core.
• Power, flesh and freshness: ‘Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases’ 2018: power, flesh and solid tannins, with freshness that maintains balance and finesse already perceptible.

Château Lynch-Bages

Bordeaux · Pauillac

• The baker who waited for the grapes: A former Pauillac baker, Jean-Charles Cazes took the reins of Lynch-Bages in 1934. He became known for his patience: waiting for full ripeness, even if it meant being among the last to harvest.
• Volume and silky tannins: ‘Château Lynch-Bages’ 2015: blackcurrant and black fruit, a voluminous yet supple palate, present tannins with a silky touch and a persistent finish.

Château Margaux

Bordeaux · Margaux

• The rebirth of 1977: André Mentzelopoulos bought Château Margaux in 1977, as Bordeaux emerged from crisis, and set about restoring its lustre. His daughter Corinne continued his work from 1980.
• Stricter selection for the grand vin: With oenologist Émile Peynaud, André Mentzelopoulos relaunched ‘Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux’. The return of this second wine accompanied stricter selection of the lots destined for the ‘Grand Vin du Château Margaux’.
• Power and a silky touch: The ‘Grand Vin du Château Margaux’ offers depth and freshness, with dense tannins and a silky touch. Finesse and power continue into a long finish.

Château Montrose

Bordeaux · Saint-Estèphe

• Cabernet Sauvignon at the heart of Montrose: Montrose’s Saint-Estèphe grand vin is built around Cabernet Sauvignon. Structured, tannic substance carries finesse, while cellaring allows the bouquet to become more delicate and complex.
• The 2022 cellar choices: The 2022 blend is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Small vineyard lots were handled separately with gentle extraction and nine distinct grades of press wine. Ageing lasted eighteen months in French oak, 60% new: selection continues in the cellar as well as in the vineyard.
• From heathland to second growth: Étienne Théodore Dumoulin planted the land in 1815. Forty years later, Montrose attained second-growth status in the 1855 classification.

Château Pavie

Bordeaux · Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

• Saint-Émilion on three levels: Pavie extends from the limestone plateau to the sandier foot of the slope, via the south-facing clay-limestone hillside. These three terrains come together in the grand vin blend.
• The varieties follow the soils: Merlot dominates higher up, Cabernet Franc occupies the hillside and Cabernet Sauvignon sits lower down. ‘Château Pavie’ thus brings together several expressions of the same slope.
• A dense, fleshy red: ‘Château Pavie’ 2020: candied black fruit, crème de cassis and smoky notes. The palate is dense and fleshy, with tight tannins and freshness that balances the richness.

Petrus

Bordeaux · Pomerol

• Pomerol’s island of clay: Petrus rests on a thick layer of blue clay that rises close to the surface in the heart of the Pomerol plateau. The wine is made entirely from Merlot: this meeting of a distinctive soil and a single variety forms its signature.
• Restraint in the cellar: Olivier Berrouet continues his father Jean-Claude’s work. He describes gentle pumping-over, avoiding excessive extraction and limiting oxygen exposure as ways to preserve Merlot’s balance and capacity to develop. The aim is a wine that evolves in bottle, rather than maximum impact in its youth.
• Petrus 2020: Wild blueberry, raspberry and redcurrant accompany dense, creamy substance, very fine tannins and well-integrated acidity.

Vieux Château Certan

Bordeaux · Pomerol

• The Thienponts arrive in Pomerol: In 1924, Flemish wine merchant Georges Thienpont bought Vieux Château Certan. This acquisition began the family’s winegrowing history in Bordeaux.
• Cabernet Franc matters too: Vieux Château Certan gives the Cabernets a significant place in its Pomerol. The 2015 combines 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon: the freshness of Cabernet Franc answers the silky Merlot.
• Powerful and silky: ‘Vieux Château Certan’ 2015: a powerful yet silky palate, carried by freshness and a long aromatic presence.