Bordeaux Month Starts NOW!!!First Stop : St.-Julien:BORDEAUX $32.99 - $349Top Château from our Week en Primeur2020, 2019, 2016, 2009 & 2005 on Sale!
Get ready to raise a glass to Bordeaux! Throughout the entire month of May, we are dedicated to finding you the best wines of Bordeaux. We will be sending offers all month long as well as having in-store sales – you won't want to miss out on this Bordeaux Bonanza!
Today we start with Saint-Julien, which was built in the 7th century, a small village with a population of less than 800 people, located on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. While driving, walking and tasting through St.-Julien on our recent visit to Bordeaux for en Primeur week of the 2023 vintage, we were mesmerized by the stone architecture, winding roads and quiet air of this ancient place. We have always loved these Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds, and with good reason. By the 17th century, Saint-Julien had already risen to fame for its exceptional wines. St. Julien reds are powerful and luxurious with very fine, velvety tannins. Notes of black cherry, currant, blackberry, plum, mocha and licorice abound; these wines are very rich and complex, and will age for decades in the best vintages.
Today we are featuring several Château we visited, with wines in different price points. All are drinkable now but could also continue to be cellared. Our best buys hail from Gruaud-Larose (the second label 'Sarget'), Lagrange and Gloria; the famed Léoville’s are included showcasing the 2005 Léoville Poyferré, 2019 & 2016 Léoville Barton's and the legendary 2009 Léoville Las Cases. We had the honor of spending an unforgettable evening at Léoville Las Cases, dining next to owner Jean-Hubert Delon. When we arrived at his château, the historic church across the road from Las Cases was tolling its bells, creating an extraordinary welcome for us at this estate considered the very best of Saint-Julien.
If you have any questions before placing your order, please call us. And check out our Instagram and Facebook pages later today for more photos from the trip!
Cheers! the Murray family
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Sarget de Gruaud Larose Saint Julien 2020 750ml |
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RATED 90 VINOUS : 'The 2020 Sarget de Gruaud has a quite a high-toned, floral bouquet with violet and blueberry aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with plush tannins, fine acidity and just slight peppery notes towards the finish but with very commendable length for a Deuxième Vin. Very fine.' |
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REG. $39.99 SALE $32.99Buy Now |
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Chateau Lagrange Saint Julien 2019 750ml |
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RATED 95 WINE ADVOCATE : 'The 2019 Lagrange has turned out beautifully in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of loamy soil, pencil shavings and bay leaf. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of lively fruit, powdery tannins and succulent acids, it's suave and seamless, concluding with a long, expansive finish. The result of an extremely rigorous selection, and incorporating fully 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the finest wine this château has produced in the modern era.'
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Chateau Gloria Saint Julien 2016 750ml |
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RATED 96 VINOUS : 'The 2016 Gloria is one of the undisputed stars of this vintage. Rich, deep and explosive, the 2016 possesses tremendous intensity in all of its dimensions. Sweet red cherry, tobacco, menthol, licorice and dried rose petal all add complexity. In 2016 Gloria is a real head-turner. A fabulous value as well.' |
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Chateau Leoville Barton St. Julien 2019 750ml |
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| RATED 97 WINE ADVOCATE : 'The 2019 Léoville Barton is a timeless classic. Offering up aromas of blackcurrants, plums, pencil shavings and licorice, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, its deep core of fruit framed by a chassis of rich, powdery tannin that makes itself felt on the youthfully firm finish. While it's clearly built for the long haul, its structural seamlessness and mid-palate plenitude mark it out as one of the finest wines from this château in recent times. Could it be a more concentrated modern-day version of Anthony Barton's brilliant 1985?' | ||||||||||||||||
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Chateau Leoville Barton St. Julien 2016 750ml |
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RATED 97 WINE SPECTATOR & #1 WINE OF THE YEAR IN 2019 : 'This is so vivid as it brims with pastis-soaked plum, blackberry, black currant and blueberry paste flavors, all carried by a perfectly integrated brambly spine. Tar and ganache notes give the finish an extra kick while everything stays within the mouthwatering roasted apple wood frame. Both regal and rambunctious, this is St.-Julien to a T.' Drink/decant 2024 through 2040. |
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Château Gruaud Larose Saint Julien 2005 750ml |
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| RATED 98 INSIDE BORDEAUX (NOV.2021): 'Needs coaxing out of the glass, as is true with so many 2005s even at 16 years old, but straight off the first nose you get the most beautiful nuance and spice. It's exotic if subtle, with a creamy texture, grilled oak, black chocolate shavings, cassis and raspberry, all with the most beautiful sense of tiptoeing through the palate, holding the line. Exceptionally well balanced, slate and smoked earth, giving signature St Julien finesse. This is utterly spellbinding, and starting to show its potential. This one really does benefit from being decanted. Brilliant, full of flavour. Harvest Sept 20 to Oct 11, 35% new oak.' | ||||||||||||
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Château-Leoville-Poyferre St. Julien 2005 750ml |
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| RATED 95 VINOUS : 'The 2005 Léoville-Poyferré is drop-dead gorgeous on the nose with pure red cherries, raspberry preserve, rose petal and potpourri scents, gaining intensity with every swirl. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, silky smooth with a delineated, classic tobacco and smoked tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. One of the highlights of the decade and with much more to give. Superb.' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chateau Leoville Las Cases Saint Julien 2009 750ml |
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| RATED 99 JAMES SUCKLING AND 98+ WINE ADVOCATE : 'Let yourself go and sink into this deep dark chasm that will swallow you whole if you let it. Enormous concentration, but every bit as much finesse, the finish extremely long and fine. And this is just beginning to give its best!' 'The 2009 Leoville Las Cases may be the most open-knit and forward Las Cases I have tasted to date. This blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc boasts an inky/purple color, monumental concentration and lots of sweet, jammy black currant, black cherry and kirsch fruit intermixed with crushed rock and mineral notes. As always, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon has built a massive wine with exceptional precision, unbelievable purity and aging potential of 40-50 years. I was surprised by the lusciousness of this cuvee on several occasions, and how much more forward it is given the fact that Las Cases can often be forebodingly backward and in need of 10-15 years of cellaring (at age 30, the 1982 is still a baby in terms of development!). The super-concentrated 2009 is a brilliant, full-throttle St.-Julien.' | ||||||||||||||||||||
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