Château Rouget 2014

Château Rouget is one of the oldest estates in Pomerol, and the first records of this property date back to the Roman era.  This makes the Right Bank property a unique one, as a lot of estates in this part of Bordeaux are on the younger side.  Like any property with such a long-lived history, Château Rouget has had its fortunes rise and fall, yet under the latest ownership the property has risen dramatically in quality.  With scores in the low 90s and price under $100.00, Château Rouget is an excellent value wine that comes from a region with some of the most expensive, highly sought-after wines in the world. 

Château Rouget was accidentally planted by the Romans very early on.  The property had terroirs that were merged with both Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. Its first appearance in the modern age dates to the 1700s, when it was owned by the Bayonne family.  Château Rouget had a sterling reputation and was considered one of the top five wines in Pomerol – essentially making it a grand cru.  At the end of the 19th Century, the property was owned by the Dupuy family who later passed the estate on to Marcel Bertrand.  It stayed within the Bertrand family for a long time, until a descendant sold the property to the Labruyere family in 1992.

The Labruyere family has a long history within the wine industry, especially in Beaujolais.  They have owned Domaine Labruyere in the Moulin-a-Vent appellation since 1850 and Domaine Jacques Prieur Musigny in Burgundy.  When Château Rouget was purchased by the Labruyere family, it was relegated to selling off much of its fruit in bulk to négociants.  The Labruyere family saw enormous potential for the terroir of the estate – with some choice parcels near exalted producers like Château Pétrus and a stone’s throw away from Le Pin.  It was the mission of the Labruyere family to restore the estate to its former glory, and no expense was spared in this process. 

In 1997, they hired the incomparable Michel Rolland to consult on the property, and they expanded their vineyard holdings by 17-hectares.  There were some earlier plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, and these were removed and replaced with more plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  The vines are 28 years old on average, and Château Rouget practices a process called micro vinification.  Some of the fruit is fermented whole berry to reduce oxidization during the fermentation process. As of 2001, an extensive renovation was done at the estate, resulting in a brand-new vat room with a mixture of thermoregulated stainless steel tanks and wooden vats.  The current estate manager, Antoine Ribeiro, brings a lot of discipline and passion to the winemaking process at Château Rouget.  He is always striving to make Château Rouget one of the great Pomerol estates and it’s clear he is getting results.  The quality of grand vin has risen dramatically at this property, and critics are beginning to take note of the estate’s consistent progress, year after year.   

"The 2014 Rouget was memorable, extremely rich and opulent when I Originlly tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, it has retained that brash and ostentatious persona with intense oyster-shell tinged red fruit that really pack a punch compared to some of its more demure brethren. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive density, a muscular Rouget at first but give it time in the glass and you start to see more of its nuances and elegance. Hopefully time will temper the aromatics and if so, this will be a very worthy Pomerol. My only caveat is that the wood tannins are still conspicuous on the finish and they do need to be subsumed." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (03/31/2017), Rating: 91, Drink from: 2020-2038