Two Incredible Bordeaux Values 2022 Chateau Belgrave and 2022 Chateau Marjosse on SALE!!
Wine contains all four basic tastes. The sweet taste is provided by the alcohol and, where present, its sugars; sour taste comes from the free organic acids; the salt taste from the salts; the bitter taste from the wine's phenolic components, generally called tannins. In tasting wine, these four tastes are not perceived at the same time, they become apparent one after the other.
EMILE PEYNAUD, Knowing and Making Wine
We are bringing people together every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights here at the Wine Bar for some exceptional wines. This week we have events on Tuesday and Wednesday night as well. We also have a table set up in the Wine Cave on these three nights and will take a reservation for 6-16 people for a private dinner.
We will take up to 16 people but will accept as few as 6 for a curated dinner by Chef Toni. We must know in advance what food items you want so you will have to coordinate the menu with Toni ahead of time but she can put together any of your favorites from past Wine Bar menus or whatever you want if she has enough notice. The best thing about this table is the view of the wine, we have the largest selection of vintage wine in South Florida and everything is available at a retail price!! You may want to bring a sweater it is 64 degrees in the wine cave.
We have two great values to start out this week and for a classified growth that scored 95 points with one of the major critics at under $40 this may be the greatest value of all time from Bordeaux! But wait a Bordeaux that scored over 90 points that costs $15- that is AMAZING especially when you find out that this Chateau is run by the same person that manages Chateau Cheval Blanc and D’yquem!!
Two GREAT Bordeaux Values
2022 Chateau Belgrave Haut Medoc
Price: $45.00 Sale $36.00
(95 Points) Juicy, forward, bright and vibrant this has a great energy straight away, crisp and tannic, but well integrated so you get almost a bouncy palate with flint edges giving minerality and acidity providing the lift. Feels detailed and precise, lovely definition to the overall frame and this carries to a long finish. Impressive, I like the strength and the focus and it doesn't feel overripe or too extracted. So much to like about this wine with subtle liquorice, mint and crushed stone aspects. This will be excellent. Decanter
Since 1979, we have been extremely privileged to manage Château Belgrave, this large, classic estate, which is among the finest in Medoc. Significant responsibility, continued investment and the tireless, never truly assuaged quest for perfection, comes with the immense satisfaction of in someway expressing the character of the soils and recognising in our wines the refinement, depth and personality of this outstanding terroir.
Originally a well-known hunting pavilion during the reign of Louis XV, the vineyards were developed notably under the influence of the Coutanceau family. The château was included in the prestigious 1855 classification under this name.
The “Bellegrave” designation first appeared in 1845, when Bordeaux negociant Bruno Devès remodelled the estate and planted vines on the finest gravel plots. He built dwellings, wineries and tank rooms and constructed the current residence on the site of the former hunting pavilion. The name Belgrave was officially adopted in the early 20th century by Marcel Alibert, who owned the estate for almost 30 years. The link between the Cru and hunting is still in evidence today, symbolised by a ferret featuring on the wine packaging.
Since 1979, Dourthe keeps striving for the excellence of this cru.
On the outskirts of the Saint-Julien appellation, Château Belgrave is one of the oldest Crus in the Médoc. Two hilltops spanning 23 and 26 metres respectively are composed of gravel and pudding stones deposited several thousand years ago by the Gironde, overlying a clay sub-structure.
Later-ripening varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are here seen to flourish. At the base of the hills, Merlot thrives in the gravel-sand soils or clay outcrops.
Research undertaken to gain an improved understanding of the terroir has resulted in a highly detailed mapping of the vineyard. With this in-depth insight, grapes of similar character can be harvested selectively. High planting densities of 10,000 vines per hectare across 75% of the vineyard help to moderate yields and improve concentration in the grapes. When it comes to the harvest, the grapes undergo rigorous selection, notably via optical sorting, in a bid to retain only perfectly ripe berries. One of the first properties in the Médoc to practise cap-punching, the tank room at Château Belgrave is equipped to vinify in separate batches and respect the individual character of the selectively harvested batches. Finally, ageing on the fine lees for 12-14 months in French oak barriques defines and enhances the aromatic profile of the future wines.
At Château Belgrave, our environmentally conscious approach permeates our viticultural regime. No synthetic pesticides or CMR substances (carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic) are permitted in the vineyards and e promote the use of natural compost. In addition, promoting biodiversity through integrated pest management underlines our every action.
To this end, almost a third of our land at Château Belgrave has been set aside as an important wildlife reserve to conserve biodiversity. Hedgerows also contribute to the conservation of biodiversity on the property and serve as vital wildlife corridors for wild boar and deer. As part of our collaboration with the ‘‘Conservatoire des Races d’Aquitaine’’ (Aquitaine Rare Breeds Conservation Society), we have introduced in 2020 five hives of black bees native from Médoc, a small flock of local-bred sheep and two local-bred ponies which are grazing in the meadows surrounding the estate.
To validate and formalise many years of environmentally-conscious practice, Château Belgrave, as all the Dourthe chateaux, obtains a double certification: Terra Vitis® is a certification specific to the wine sector, recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture. Its specifications are based on 6 principles: respect for the terroir, protection of the vine and the harvest, respect for people, innovation and development, respect for society, respect for the consumer.
HVE is a government certification that aims to promote farms that engage in environmentally friendly approaches. This certification is based on 4 themes: biodiversity protection, phytosanitary strategy, fertilization management, water resource management.
A member of the prestigious Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Château Belgrave produces two wines. Château Belgrave, classified in 1855, is defined by finesse and great elegance, and expresses the true character of this magnificent terroir. Deep and concentrated, it stands apart for its ageing capacity and aromatic complexity.
The second wine is essentially crafted from younger vines and enjoys exactly the same care and attention as the first wine. With its soft, fruity character, it is ready for immediate drinking.
2022 Chateau Marjosse Rouge Bordeaux
Price: $17.75 Sale $15.62
(91 Points) The 2022 Marjosse is a bright, nervy red. Floral notes, orange peel, mint and white pepper lend notable energy throughout. Readers will find an atypically vibrant wine for the year. More than anything else, the 2022 represents a pretty significant shift for Marjosse toward a style that focuses on greater freshness than in the past. Drinking Window: 2025 – 2037, Antonio Galloni, January 2025
The first known resident of Chateau Marjosse was a wine merchant called Bernard Chénier, born in 1758, who left the city of Bordeaux to move into the imposing XVIII Century “Chartreuse” with his wife Catherine Clémentine Fiton. According to historical records “Marjosse was a source of happiness for the family”. It was at that time that the first vines were planted, on no less than 56 different parcels – quite a few more than what exists today. The modest “chais”, or winemaking cellar, was adjacent to the beautifully symmetrical stone house and contained big wooden vats for fermenting the must (later lost to a big fire and re-built out of cement).
Jacques Clément, son of the couple, lived at Marjosse with wife Clémentine Vitrac, whose family was also in the wine business ( in nearby Libourne). Eventually the couple sold the property and it fell into the hands of the Deleuze family. Wealthy magnate Alban Deleuze was also the director of the Magasins du Louvre in Paris and added a huge extension to the house filled with marble fireplaces and bathroom sinks that came from the Hotel de Crillon (they were removed during big renovations done in the 1940’s). When he passed away the property was inherited by his son Georges, a high-ranking general in the French army. At that time they delegated the winemaking to to the property’s caretakers.. It was only in 1990, once the General was already retired, that he decided to rent out some of the parcels to a young and ambitious winemaker called Pierre Lurton. Raised by his winemaking father Dominic in the neighbouring Château Reynier, Pierre had learned how to tend to vines and to make wine with his father and, later, with his uncles André and Lucien, who hired him to work at Clos Fourtet in Saint-Émilion.
Pierre vinified his first Marjosses entirely by hand and nearly without help, working through many nights. The following year he was hired as manager of the prestigious Château Cheval Blanc, but continued to work on his own property during his off hours. The entire 1991 vintage was lost due to frost, posing immense economic pressure on the budding entrepreneur but he took out some bank loans and forged ahead. In 1992 Pierre moved into a manager’s house at Château Marjosse with his wife and first child. Over the years he slowly purchased bits and pieces of the property from the Deleuze family, all the while paying them “fermage” fees to harvest and vinify their grapes. In 2000 he built a state-of-the-art cellar more than 180 meters long, containing over 40 cement vats. It took another thirteen years before the Deleuze heirs (brothers François and Michel) reluctantly agreed to sell the remaining parts of the property to Pierre, including the magnificent stone Chartreuse.
In 2014 Pierre began an extensive restoration of the Chartreuse, carefully bringing floors, mouldings and fireplaces back to their original state. It is now his main residence. In 2017 he hired Jean-Marc Domme as winemaker and technical director and opened a new chapter in the winery’s history. In 2017, for the first time, parcels were vinified separately and they began plans to create small-batch cuvées made from the grapes in the most notable parcels, each with its own characteristics and micro-climate. The rest of the story is still being written, as Pierre and Jean-Marc delve deeper and deeper into the subtleties of this magnifcent terroir seeking to capture its essence in liquid form.
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