Chateau La Grolet Tete de Cuvee, Cotes De Bourg, Bordeaux – 2019

I don’t believe I have tasted any other wine from Bordeaux which offers such immense quanlity at such a bargain price! And it is 100% biodynamically certified, which in relatively wet and humid Bordeaux means a considerable amount of extra work in the vineyards!

It is a blend of 85% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec, all from from 55 year old vines. It is rich, fruit-packed and opulent with multiple layers of flavour, good freshness and silky smooth structure. It is the perfect “weekday” Bordeaux red which is already drinking perfectly but should develop nicely for another 5 years.

The previous 2018 vintage was awarded 17.5pts by Jancis Robinson.com – you can see her comment below. I believe this 2019 is even better!

 “It’s a long time since a bordeaux has stolen my heart. I opened the bottle idly, unconscious expectations low for a young Côtes de Bourg under £20. The alcohol on the bottle said 14% (it turned out to be 13.8%) so I was expecting heat and oak, lots of Merlot dust and bell pepper. The usual. Instead, it was like walking out the door into the garden as the sun is rising on a late spring morning and the cool, pearl-white air is exploding with bird song. An orchestra of pure-throated, swelling-with-the-joy-of-alive, swooping fruit. The purity of the fruit – succulent cassis, black raspberry, wild-tannic sloe, brambly blackcurrant, dense damson – is so striking that it took my breath away. The tannins feel like moss-covered wood, taste like moss-covered stones, move tendrillar up around the fruit. The energy of the wine (intense, purposeful but cool and meditative rather than manic) spirals in the mouth, helical, cochlear; a whorl that draws you in then out and back around. This is a remarkable wine. You could age it, probably for a long time, but it’s so gorgeous right now that I’d drink it for its glowing beauty of youth. Punches way, way above its pay grade.” 17.5pts and “Very Good Value” Jancisrobinson.com