Description
Gone are the days when all Bordeaux reds needed to be cellared for years (though you can still find them among the pricier echelons of classed growth releases). However, Bordeaux can offer very appealing, velvety wines with generous fruit, structure and elegance.
Our winemaker, Jean-Marc Sauboua, trained at one of Bordeaux's smartest addresses – first growth Château Haut-Brion – but for Le Bourg he wanted to produce a red that is as easy to drink by the glass in the local village bar, as it is with a hearty supper. He chose two parcels of mostly Merlot – one Right Bank cuvée from the ripe 2022 vintage, the other from just across the river and the younger 2023 vintage. Fruity with a touch of oak, Gold-medal Le Bourg makes a great glass with a casserole or roast.
As John Lehmann, writing in The Australian: "For winemaker Jean-Marc Sauboua, even after a lifetime of making wines according to the mores of Bordeaux tradition, there’s a bit of magic to be found in lateral thinking. What began as an experiment has become a popular sideline for Jean-Marc, blending grapes from different years to create a very particular kind of wine. In the same cellar where he also adds the finishing touches to deeply serious wines from some of Bordeaux’s most esteemed estates, Jean-Marc set himself the different challenge of blending claret that will welcome you like a friend – fruit driven, ready to drink right now, and relatively easy on the alcohol (and the price tag). For those who’ve dreamed of spending part of every year in the south of France, this is the red you would drink at your local bar – a lovely, inviting nose of blackcurrant, vanilla and sweet baking spice, and a fruit-filled palate with soft tannins, velvet texture and sophisticated notes of tobacco and bitter chocolate."
