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Bordeaux Producers
Name: Bordeaux
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Chasse-Spleen has always been a big estate, and was once carved out of an even bigger one. It’s the largest estate in Moulis (next stop north from Margaux, inland from the river) and, alongside Poujeaux, one of the two outstanding Moulis estates which could credibly stake a claim to a place in a revised 1855 classification. It used to be listed as a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel but has since stepped away from the Cru Bourgeois classification system.
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In 2021, Chateau Cheval Blanc, along with Chateau Ausone, withdrew from the St-Emilion classification. These chateaux alleged doubts about the criteria for (re)classification, citing a drift away from the pre-eminence on terroir towards a focus on marketing considerations. Some critics implied they were miffed by the prospect of having to share their exalted ‘Premier Grand Cru Classe A’ status with more chateau (it had been their exclusive preserve prior to the 2012 promotion of Pavie and Angelus).
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There is a party on the label of Clerc Milon and the property`s history over the last forty years certainly justifies a celebration. Rescued by Baron Philippe de Rothschold in 1970, the estate has been renovated in both vineyards and cellars, but the average age of the vines is still just over forty years. Because of a mixture of soils, the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon here is less than might be typical in Pauillac with good dollops of Cabernet Franc and even the now rare in Bordeaux Carmenere.
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Is it possible not to love Climens? Without even tasting it, all the constituents are already in place- it`s biodynamic, it has a devoted and committed owner and is beautifully run. Oh, and it is a fraction of the price of most of the world`s other top wines. And then you taste it. Berenice Lurton crafts the purest nectar out in the vineyards and in the cellar acts as alchemist, turning the leaden grey fruit into vinous gold.
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Vines first went into the ground at Clinet in 1758, making it one of Pomerol’s oldest estates. By the early nineteenth century, with vineyards proliferating, Clinet was regarded as one of the very best. Fast forward to the late 1970s, when Estate Manager Jean-Michel Arcaute arrived here. In his determination to restore Clinet to its nineteenth century glory, he completely reformed vineyard practise here – and a lot of Bordeaux began to follow. In came leaf thinning and green harvesting. Out went machine harvesting, to ensure only the best grapes were picked.
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The chateau at Cos d’Estournel is an Oriental extravagance quite out of keeping with the conventional image of a Bordeaux chateau, to wit, a sedate, serene construction in cream-coloured limestone. Cos d’Estournel reflects the eccentricities and travel habits of its founder, Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, a wealthy young man of the Medoc who had acquired a small parcel of vines near the village of Cos and who, seeing great potential, resolved to create a wine of the stature of Lafite. -
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One early owner gifted a family name to the chateau. A different set of nineteenth-century owners with connections to Pope Leo XIII made de Fieuzal famous by filling the Vatican’s wine cellars with the wine. Since 2001, de Fieuzal has been owned by Lochlan Quinn, former chairman of the Allied Irish Bank. The size of the vineyard hasn’t deterred him from pushing for the chateau to partially adopt biodynamic viticulture, on top of which, if you visit, you will find vegetable gardens, henhouses and beehives.
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Roederer`s stewardship of de Pez since they took it over in 1995 is a study in how to improve a property. They have had a long look at the mix of vine varieties and the soils and have tried to match them more precisely, planting more Merlot where appropriate. They have also changed the trellising arrangements for the vines to promote better and more even ripening, while in the cellar, retention of the wooden fermenting vats, now temperature controlled, and more attention to hygiene mean the wines are suppler, fruitier and somewhat more attractive when young.
