• Sub-$50 Margaux: 2016 Chateau Larruau

    Sub-$50 Margaux: 2016 Chateau Larruau

    For years, our go-to value in Margaux has been Moulin de Tricot. Unfortunately, they were recently purchased by a conglomerate, and the upcoming 2019 will be the final release. With just one more vintage to enjoy these wines, we were lucky to find an exceptional replacement. Max stumbled upon Chateau Larruau at a Bordeaux tasting over a decade ago, and in that time, the wines have maintained their fair pricing.

    Chateau Larruau is equally planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, most of which surround vineyards owned by the famous Chateau Margaux. New oak is limited to about 35%, a big reason this concentrated Bordeaux still conveys its sense of place, void of vanillin or monolithic oak tannin. The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented in temperature-controlled tanks, and aged for 18 months in a mix of new and neutral wood. Margaux is well known for having the highest concentration of gravel soils and, therefore, producing the most elegant wines of the Médoc.

    Chateau Larruau’s 2016 bottling has those quintessential tobacco and graphite notes paired with the vintage’s vivid fruit profile. This is real deal Bordeaux and hands down the best pricing you’ll find in Margaux!

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    Posted by Sydney Love
  • Naturally Margaux: Clos du Jaugueyron

    Naturally Margaux: Clos du Jaugueyron

    Earlier this year, NYT wine critic Eric Asimov published an article that might as well have been a love letter to natural wine, sharing his insight on the joys (and pitfalls) of these stylistic wines that have ignited a worldwide movement. Natural producers span the globe, even in the Old World's most staunchly classic regions like Bordeaux.

    Michel Théron and Stéphanie Destruhaut, owners of Clos du Jagueyron, farm seven hectares in Margaux and neighboring Haut-Médoc. Margaux is known for its gravel-based, well-draining soils, allowing the vines to grow deep and transmit this graphite-laced terroir. Generally, the wines are perfumed, full-bodied yet balanced, and have soft, silky tannins. Current standouts are the 2016 Haut-Médoc and 2014 Margaux Perrain: The Haut-Médoc is the more ready-to-drink wine with mineral-driven and herbaceous notes, while Perrain is more serious and polished, with darker savory notes of cedar and tobacco leaf.

    Clos du Jagueyron began with a single parcel in 1993. They have practiced biodynamic farming since 2008 (Now Demeter certified) and never used chemicals on their vines. In the cellar, these Cabernet-dominant wines spontaneously ferment in cement tanks and age in French barrels with minimal new oak. Apart from our other go-to, Chateau Le Puy, this is the most pleasurable, terroir-driven Bordeaux I've had this year—and without the stuffiness, expensive price tag, or decades of aging demanded by other top châteaux here.

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    Posted by Sydney Love