Château de Chantegrive is one of the few really big chateaux in AC Graves (the other big ones are in Pessac-Leognan), with 90 hectares of vines. This is also the star of the Graves appellation (and one of our big favourites). The chateau is a family owned and is run by Hélène Lévêque. It was [...]
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Château Franc-Mayne, Saint Emilion Grand Cru | BKWine Pick
This is a small and beautiful estate, situated very close to the pretty town of Saint Emilion. The wines here, made with merlot as the main grape variety, are classic Bordeaux wines that age beautifully for at least 12-15 years. We had a Franc Mayne 1995 for dinner the other day and it was delicious. [...]
Château de Respide, vineyard in Graves | BKWine Pick
There is much talk about the expensive Bordeaux wines but when you know where to look you can find very well made and delicious wines for 10-12 euro. A fairly new acquaintance is Château de Respide, owned by Franck Bonnet. The chateau is in the southern part of Graves, just outside of Langon. Franck makes [...]
Château Fourcas-Hosten, Listrac – BKWine Pick
We recently had a Château Fourcas-Hosten 2003, bought a few days earlier for the sum of 12 euro. It was a fantastic Bordeaux – classic in style with cedar wood and firm tannins (despite the hot summer of 2003) – and the price was as fantastic. Who says Bordeaux wines are expensive? The chateaux in [...]
Château La Garde, Pessac-Léognan – BKWine Pick
Château La Garde in Pessac-Léognan is a beautiful small chateau in the style which in French is called chartreuse. The chateau was bought by Dourthe (big négociant in Bordeaux, now owned by Champagne Alain Thienot) in 1990 and the quality of the wines has improved enormously these past few years. The vineyard consists of 60 [...]
Château Lagrange, Saint Julien, Bordeaux – BKWine Pick
This Grand Cru Classé was bought in 1983 by the Japanese beverage company Suntory which got a lot of attention at the time. A Grand Cru Classé in the hands of the Japanese! Almost a bit of a scandal. But being Japanese hasn’t really done Château Lagrange any harm. On the contrary. An enormous amount [...]
Château de la Dauphine, Fronsac, Bordeaux – BKWine Pick
Château de la Dauphine is a beautiful chateau on the right bank of Bordeaux. Jean Halley owns the chateau since 2001 and he has, after having spent millions on renovations, given a new life to this estate. He now produces classic and well structured Bordeaux wines based on 80 % merlot and 20 % cabernet [...]
Château Tournefeuille, Lalande de Pomerol – BKWine Pick
This beautiful chateau is in the Petit family since the 18th century. The chateau is surrounded by 17 hectares of vineyards in the appellation Lalande de Pomerol. It has a beautiful view over the region – you can see the church in Pomerol, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Vieux Chateau Certan, Petrus (if you look closely)… Emeric [...]
Château Villars, Fronsac, Bordeaux – BKWine Pick
Fronsac is not as famous as its illustrious neighbour Pomerol. But it would deserve to be. It is pretty rolling hills landscape, much nicer than the flat land in Pomerol. And the wines from the best chateaux are excellent classic clarets in style. In addition to the quality the have the great advantage of being [...]
Chateau la Conseillante in Pomerol | BKWine Pick
Chateau la Conseillante is a family owned (Nicolas) property in Pomerol. Jean-Michel Laporte is responsible for the running and for the winemaking since a handful of years. The 12 ha vineyard is planted with mainly merlot (80-85% in the wine) and some cabernet franc. In 2007 they launched a “second wine” called Duo de Conseillante, [...]
Château Moulin du Cadet, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux
Another small biodynamic recommendation this month. Classic, quite tannic and structured Bordeaux wines is the hall mark of Pierre Blois at Château Moulin du Cadet in Saint Emilion, just a short walk from the village. He has 5 ha, biodynamic since 2004. “Farming biodynamic means that you really have to be present in the vineyard [...]
Château Pey La Tour, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur – BKWine Pick
A biggish and well-maintained property with 170 ha of vines in the heart of Entre-deux-Mers. Since 1990 it belongs to the négociant CVBG-Dourthe-Kressman and they have put a substantial 4€M of investments into it. They have increased the planting density, lowered the yields, are monitoring water stress with GPS etc and all has contributed to [...]
Château Lestrille, Entre-deux-Mers, Bordeaux | BKWine Pick
The Roumage family has been making wine in St Germain du Puch since the end of the 19th century and now, for the first time, it is a woman, Estelle, who is in charge. She makes both white red and rosé. The rosé goes under the label ‘clairet’, which is a bordelaise style of rosé [...]
Château Saint Christoly, Médoc, Bordeaux | BKWine Pick
Since 2002 it is run by the two young sisters Cathy and Sandrine Héraud, sixth generation winemakers in the family who owns this 28 hectare property in northern Médoc. They are both full of enthusiasm but also very focused on what they want to achieve. Cathy makes the wine and Sandrine takes care of marketing [...]
Château Belair, Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé | BKWine Pick
One of the best chateaux in Saint Emilion, now one of the 13 Premier Grand Crus Classés (B). Belair is owned by Pascal Delbec, quite a personality who previously was in charge of Chateau Ausone, a neighbour (classified “(A)”). The vineyard covers 13 hectares, soil is primarily lime stone although it is very varying, giving [...]
Château de Pressac, Saint-Emilion | BKWine Pick
Many chateaux in Saint-Emilion are very humble abodes and hardly merits the term chateau. For Chateau de Pressac the case is the opposite. The main building is on a hilltop and reminds you of a medieval knight’s castle and it actually dates from the 15th century (at least in parts). Jean-François and Dominique Quenin bought [...]
Vieux Château Gaubert, Graves | BKWine Pick
Dominique Havelan’s family has been wine growers in Graves for three generations and in 1988 Dominique bought the quite run down Vieux Château Gaubert that he has been renovating and replanting since. His wines, both white and red, received much praise almost from the beginning and today Vieux Chateau Gaubert is one of the safe [...]
Château Haut Bertinerie, Premières Côtes de Blaye, Bordeaux | BKWine Pick
Château Haut-Bertinerie is the leading estate in Premières Côtes de Blaye, just east of Médoc on the other side of the estuary Gironde. The red wines are made from old Merlot (65%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (35%) vines. It is full bodied with some spiciness and what the French call ‘torrefacion’ (the slightly burned aroma from [...]
Château Haut-Marbuzet, Saint Estèphe, Bordeaux | BKWine Pick
Château Haut-Marbuzet in Saint Estephe is, since quite a few years now, one of the top wines in Médoc. When the new Cru Bourgeois classification was done they were one of nine chateaux to be placed in the top category Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. They have a wine style that is round and full-bodied, and very [...]
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