Laguna Cellar Wine of the Month - July 2022

Tasting Margaux, Pauillac & Pessac-Léogan

For oenophiles who love a no frills wine that is a great value – Château Bouscaut is the perfect choice.  This Cru Classés de Graves is managed by Sophie Lurton of the legendary Lurton family.  Sophie epitomizes the qualities of a humble vigneron and has a very hands-on approach when it comes to managing the property.  Whether she is crafting wine in the vat room or pouring and showing the wine at trade tastings, her devotion to this charming Graves estate is quite apparent.  Though the estate was relatively obscure throughout the majority of the ‘90s, scores of this humble property have been creeping up and praise continues to trickle in. In spite of the recent positive press, Château Bouscaut still remains relatively affordable, over-delivering in terms of value. 

For those value-oriented customers who want to experience all the elegance a great Margaux wine has to offer without spending a pretty penny, Château Ferriere is a property worth noting.  Château Ferriere was one of the more obscure Classified Growths in the Médoc, largely due to their decision to opt out of the négociant system for several years and sell their wines directly to French restaurants.  Production was small, and there wasn’t a lot of wine to sell.  This is  starting to change, however.  Under the leadership of the ambitious Claire Villars Lurton, Château Ferriere has turned around in quality and viticultural practices, making the Third Growth property a hidden gem for bargain hunters.

Château d’Armailhac neighbors the famous First Growth property, Château Mouton Rothschild.  This 70-hectare vineyard hosts some very impressive terroir with mixtures of gravel, clay and limestone soil.  Here, plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot thrive in a T-shaped vineyard.  More than a few of these vines date all the way back to 1890 and are some of the oldest in all of Bordeaux.  The vineyards were previously a part of the vast holdings of Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur – the renowned Wine Prince - who simultaneously owned several First Growth estates including Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Château Latour. Even prior to being classified as a Fifth Growth in 1855, the wines from Château d’Armailhac were renowned throughout France; the second wine often served at local taverns. The wines are friendly examples of excellent Left Bank terroir, and a perfect buy for value-oriented wine lovers.

Located on one of the region's most beautiful gravelly rises, Château Malartic-Lagravière was purchased by the Count of Malartic in the 18th century. It was formerly know as Domaine de la Gravière until 1850, when it was given its current name.  In 1997, the estate was acquired by the Bonnie family, who enthusiastically set to work making outstanding Malartic-Lagravière wines, considered one of the jewels in Bordeaux. Using a combination of intraplot vineyard management, horse-drawn ploughing, and gravity flow, the estate obtained substainable agriculture certification in 2008 and became HEV-certified in 2015, reflecting efforts to fully express the terroir.  The family and their teams are therefore able to produce complex, well-balnced, elegant, and high-quality wines.

Château Bouscaut Blanc 2018 -  "The Bouscaut 2018 Blanc leaps from the glass with bold lime cordial, pink grapefruit and white peach scents plus hints of ginger and marzipan. Medium-bodied, the palate has very focused fruit and great intensity with a pleasant oiliness to the texture and a long, refreshing finish." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (4/23/2019, Bordeaux 2018 Issue), Ratings: 90-92

Château Ferriere 2016 - "The 2016 Ferriere is an accomplished Margaux for the vintage. It has a feminine, refined bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry and light rose petal aromas, just a hint of vanilla from the new oak that is neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, quite juicy tannin. This is very harmonious with fine tannin, impressive depth and a sense of mineralité that is in tune with this vintage. I thought that the 2015 Ferriere was excellent, but this is another step up. Bravo, Clare Villars Lurton!" - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (4/28/2017, Issue 230), Ratings: 92-94, Drink: 2021-2045

Château d'Armailhac 2017 - "A blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2017 D'Armailhac is deep garnet-purple in color and very open on the nose with expressive notes of crushed black cherries, black raspberries and cassis with hints of baking spices, lavender and wood smoke. The palate is medium-bodied with a great core of vibrant red and black fruits, ripe, grainy tannins and superb freshness, finishing long and minerally. Part of the Mouton-Rothschild family of Châteaux, while in 2017 there was no frost at Mouton, there was just a little at d’Armailhac. Winemaker Philippe Dhalluin noted that the drought at the beginning of the growing season ensured that the bunches consisted of many small berries. In fact, the Merlot was a bit stressed and suffered a little, thus Dhalluin felt it was more of a Cabernet year here in Pauillac. Yields are down on 2016 only by about 10%. The final blends were made in mid-November because the malo-lactic fermentations progressed so quickly." - Lisa Perroti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (4/27/2018, Issue 236), Ratings: 90-92

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2018 - "The 2018 Malartic-Lagravière was tasted in Bordeaux, where I was not happy with the sample bottle that came across perplexingly green. The château sent two bottles so that I could re-taste them at home and these bore none of those traits. It has an intense bouquet with copious red cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. Monitoring over an hour it evolves attractive floral scents of lavender and iris flowers. The palate is medium-bodied, the new oak quite prominent on the entry though there is sufficient fruit to back it up. This is a more sumptuous Malartic Lagravière, armed with impressive density towards the finish." - Neal Martin, vinous, (November, 2019), Ratings: 92-94, Drink: 2023-2045