Join us 4 - 8pm for a flight of 5 wines for $12 and 3 additional for purchase.
Bordeaux, as a whole, is France’s largest appellation d’origine côntrolée (AOC) area, though it’s not the country’s largest winegrowing area. It makes up 25 percent of France’s AOC vineyard area but accounts for only 14 percent of the country’s total vineyard area. Although Bordeaux is famous for its 1855 classification, only 5 percent of the vineyard area is devoted to the production of cru classés.
Vineyards in Bordeaux are typically associated with estates, or châteaux, rather than plots of land, as in Burgundy. There are approximately 6,300 winegrowers in Bordeaux (half of what there was 20 years ago). The average size of a Bordeaux wine estate is 17.6 hectares of vines, and nearly 60 percent of the region’s estates are still owned and run by families.
On average, Bordeaux produces 59 million cases of wine per vintage. Red wines typically make up 85 percent of the total volume production. Dry whites and Crémant de Bordeaux account for 10 percent; rosés, clairets, and Crémant de Bordeaux rosés make up 4 percent; and sweet Bordeaux whites account for 1 percent of total volume.
Château Costis Bordeaux Rouge 2020 $13 In 1985 Laurent Mazeau began the work of renovating his family’s extensive vineyard holdings in Southern Bordeaux. Plantings stretch out over 137 hectares over six châteaux, and Laurent’s goal is to offer consumers unbeatable values in Bordeaux. 40% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Château Cleyrac 2020 is 90% Merlot Noir, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and garnet red. It tastes of jammy red fruits, with woody notes. Its mouth feel is of velvety tannins and has a good length. This single-vineyard Bordeaux Superieur is a mere $14
Château Grimont Cadillac - Côtes de Bordeaux 2020 $17 is 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Château Grimont, built in the 17th Century, has been in the Yung family for three generations. It is situated on the right bank of Le Garonne opposite Île de la Lande and just nine miles south of the center of Bordeaux. In the 1800s, wine merchants would moor their barges at the Chateau’s jetties to load barrels of wine. This structured wine, with its solid core of tannins, has fine potential. Wood aging flavors still show at the edges. Blackberry fruits and acidity add a contrast of fruitiness.
Château Galand is located west of Libourne on the other side of the Isle River. The buildings date back to some of the sixteenth century, and the vineyards stretch from the southern flank of the famous gently sloping clay-limestone hillside of Cannon (itself an extension of the Côte de Saint-Émilion) to the alluvial plains of the Dordogne. Château Galand Bordeaux Superieur 2022 $19 85% Merlot 10% Cabernet Franc 5% Malbec is deep purple color with violet hue, intense, alluring and fruity nose with vanilla and blackberry notes, ample and racy mouth, with a good fruity maturity, blackcurrant flavors, young and elegant tannins, yet round with a good lingering finish.
Château La Grande Clotte Lussac Saint-Emilion 2022 $19 is located in Lussac, ten kilometers northwest of Saint-Emilion, and less than an hour from Bordeaux, Château La Grande Clotte is a peaceful haven within the Lussac-Saint-Émilion appellation. A subtle gourmet wine. Rich blueberry, cherry and hazelnut notes, accompanied by ripe and plush tannins. Creamy and full-bodied with a smooth finish.
BONUS WINES
Château Vieux Moulin Listrac-Médoc 2014 $22. That's right.....$22 for a 2014 Listrac-Médoc! This is a serious, complex wine from an estate that was created in the 1930s. Old vines and wood aging have give the wine concentration and richness. Black-plum skin and blackberry flavors, enhanced by a good proportion of Petit Verdot, dominate a wine that will age well.
Château Tour Chaigneau spreads over 21 hectares on a clay-limestone soils with iron dross. It is located at the highest point of the Néac plateau and in the continuity of the most prestigious part of the Pomerol plateau, at 800m as the crow flies from Château Petrus. Comprised of 92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon the Château Tour Chaigneau Lelande-Pommerol $29
Château l'Alouette Lalande de Pomerol 2021 $26 For 20 years, Jean-Claude Giraud worked with one of the finest winemakers in the appellation Lalande-de-Pomerol, a village in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 1990 he took over his father’s business, and in 2005, he purchased Château L’Alouette. Château L’Alouette is defined by its smooth and rounded character. With its pronounced, black-tinged, garnet appearance, the wine is characterized by its elegant bouquet of violets and red berry fruit aromas redolent of blackcurrant. Its smooth, concentrated structure evolves with charm. The wine lingers persistently on the appealing finish.