Regions
Vineyards
Bordeaux
The wines of Margaux from the Médoc region of Bordeaux are amongst the most famous in the world and winemakers the world over try to emulate them. Our winemakers Régis Bernaleau at Château Mongravey has already produced an exclusive Gold Medal-winning wine for Partners. Read More
Not far from the 17th century citadel of Blaye, our winemakers, Jean-Michel and Françoise Baudet, have worked hard to achieve their dream of creating a new appellation - Blaye - which officially became the 'Grand Cru' of the area in 2000. Our exclusive wine is a rich concentrated claret made from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot produced from the estate’s oldest vines. Read More
The Côtes de Bourg is one of the prettiest parts of the Bordeaux wine region, and Château Rousselle, with its beautiful swimming pool above the vines is a popular place to visit - and stay. Our exclusive Côtes de Bourg is a fresh and full-flavoured wine which is bright ruby in colour. It has a cherry bouquet with ripe blackcurrants, and a touch of liquorice and chocolate on the palate.
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Château de la Grave is the epitome of the ‘fairytale castle’ of childhood dreams and sits amongst rolling vine-covered hills. Our exclusive Côtes de Bourg, called Dédicace, is named in honour of the dedication put into the selection of the blend. It combines a lovely perfumed bouquet of ripe blackberry fruit with a nose of vanilla from the oak. Read More
About The Region
History, politics, commerce and engineering have all played their part in shaping the wine that has become synonymous with Bordeaux. However, there was something else. A starfish. Beneath the gravel of Bordeaux lies limestone bedrock made up of billions of tiny starfish. Encouraged by the quick-draining gravel, the vine's roots burrow deep into this calcitic graveyard, from where they absorb the minerals that will later, in the glass, help distinguish this unique terroir. The vines of Bordeaux truly do grow 'between the stars'.
The very fact that 'Bordeaux' has become a generic term used to describe a particular style of wine is of huge advantage to this region. There are 57 AOC areas (Appellations d'Origines Contrôlées), some of which produce wines of five-star quality - with astronomical prices to match. The trick in Bordeaux, more than in any other wine region in France, is to spot the up-and-coming areas within the region - the 'wannabe' stars - and, thankfully there are plenty of them. Since the early '80s improvements in viticulture, winemaking - and attitudes - have helped raise the overall level of quality in many of Bordeaux's AOCs and individual properties.
The Médoc is considered to be the 'classic' Bordeaux wine-producing area and anyone who has driven up the left bank of the Gironde estuary cannot fail to have been impressed by the architecture and the evocative names of the famous châteaux. But bargains from the Médoc are thin on the ground, which is one reason why it took us a long time to find Régis and Karin Bernaleau at Château Mongravey in Margaux.
When we selected our first vineyards in Bordeaux, we chose to concentrate on the prettier right bank of the Gironde in the appellations of Blaye and Bourg. These areas have a much longer history of wine production (there is evidence that the Romans planted vineyards here) but we didn't choose them for historical reasons: this is where the best quality and value for money can now be found.
Like every region in France there is still a lot of poor wine produced here, but properties owned and run by young, innovative, quality-conscious producers such as Vincent Lemaitre at Château Rousselle, Jean-Michel and Françoise Baudet at Château Monconseil-Gazin and Philippe and Valérie Bassereau at Château de la Grave are stars at the very top of the tree.