2016 L’Hospital: a steal from the Graves

9 Sep 2021

Working the Graves shift

We see a lot of samples in this job. (Yes, we'll let you know if we need any help.) It's not all fun and games, you know; as well as all the wonderful wines we like to bang on about, it turns out the world is full of mediocre ones, too. (Who'd have thought?) But we were mightily impressed when 2016 L'Hospital landed on our sample table. Here was a wine with classic Graves character: red cherry and cassis, tobacco leaf and cigar box. The finish hints at game and crushed rock. Still, it's not only about finding wines we like. It's about finding wines we like and which we can offer at a price we think is fair. We judged that we'd be happy to offer a wine of this calibre at £25 a bottle. When we looked at the numbers and saw we could have it on the shelf at a more modest £14.95, we decided there was only one way to go: BIG.

Florent and Brigitte Batistella acquired Chateau L'Hospital in 2012. This listed French historic monument needed a bit of love, and they wanted to provide it. They were equally determined to restore the vineyards to their former glory. Soil studies led to a targeted replanting programme, and more Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard. They switched to organic viticulture, followed swiftly by biodynamics. They completely renovated the winery.

L'Hospital is situated in the busy winemaking village of Portets, in the centre of the Graves. Wine was being made here when the Medoc to the north was still a swamp. The Graves takes its name from the deep gravel terraces laid down by the glaciers during the last Ice Age, and these deposits define the local terroir, and so eventually the wines. Graves wines tend to be a little lighter than their Medoc counterparts, often leading on red (not black) fruits, but the best have a strong mineral and tobacco character. It's a character you don't often find at the L'Hospital price point. /NT

Offered subject to remaining unsold, available now