2019 Futures

Full-bodied, fat and with a characteristic vanilla woody taste, the dry white wine of Lynch-Bages plays the charm and fabric card. Less than 2000 cases produced each year, far insufficient for global success.

The sophisticated and sumptuous white wine of Pape-Clément.

Property of 6 ha in Côtes de Castillon acquired in 2011 by the oenologist M. Thienpont (Puyguéraud, Pavie-Macquin, Larcis-Ducasse, Berliquet, etc.). After 5 years of restructuring, Mr. Thienpont is finally proud of his wine and offers it for the first time in 2016. Even if Merlot is dominant (92%), Alcée stands out from its neighbours by its emphasis on finesse, minerality and distinction. A wine in length and not in width!

A 4 ha plot selection from Château Rigaud, La Mauriane is not yet another luxurious cuvée on the right bank but a wine built on fine grain tannins where the brilliance and precision of the fruit prevail.

In the same family since 1609 (!), Moulin Haut-Laroque offers a disciplined Fronsac: ripe and rich without excess, softened by the sweetness of its Merlot (65%) and by a judicious breeding. A sure value of the appellation.

Remarkable success in 2016.

Mr. Durantou (Église-Clinet) produces only 1200 cases per year of his remarkable Lalande de Pomerol Les Cruzelles, much higher than Pomerol of equivalent price.

Mr Derenoncourt, Bordeaux's most sought-after consultant, is also a producer. Obviously, he (with his wife) applies in his vineyards the methods that have made his success: respect for the terroir and biotope, subtle vinification and maturation, wines of great aromatic precision.

Started in 2003, the adventure of Clos Louie is a textbook case: doll's vineyard (2.3 ha) on a beautiful clay-limestone terroir of Castillon, very old vines (150 years old!) mostly Merlot and red tail malbec, careful biodynamic cultivation, double manual sorting during the harvest, little interventionist vinification, gentle maturing in 500-litre demi-muids. A true artist's wine, absent from the guides but that informed amateurs know well.

A family property since the 1950s, the arrival of a new generation has awakened this 32-hectare cru bourgeois in Cussac-Fort-Médoc, between Saint-Julien and Margaux. Revealed in 2012, du Retout climbs another notch in 2016 and 2017 with enthusiastic, sincere and tasty Haut-Médoc, full of fruit and carried by fresh tannins. Congratulations!

Regardless of its production in the Margaux appellation, Mille Roses also produces an Haut-Médoc on 4 parcels, 5.5 ha, around the Château. 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot giving a dashing, accessible and silky wine, finely wooded (25% new oak). And of course, driven organically since 2010.