The Bordeaux Showcase Dozen

Save $69 and relish an impressive fine-dining showcase quartet from France’s premier region. We have over 50 years of experience buying here, it’s where our wine adventure began and the result is outstanding Bordeaux reds which do not cost a fortune. We know the best, smaller family estates as well as the famous names – and we make wine ourselves here too.

Our Bordeaux winemaker Jean-Marc Sauboua likes to be creative and doesn’t mind challenging rules. So, for Le Bourg he took two parcels of mostly Merlot – one Right Bank cuvée from the ripe 2022 vintage, the other from just across the river and the fresher 2023 vintage, to make a thoroughly approachable Gold medal-winning red. It boasts dark, velvety black fruits, and a light touch of oak. Le Bourg joins a fresh fruit-forward blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from a small family estate, and 91pt Le Serret, a modern, elegant red from the prestigious Haut Médoc region. This Left Bank (Merlot-rich) beauty is from 2021, a vintage praised by Decanter for its “charm, energy, and … ultimately drinking pleasure”. Decant it and bring to a table with a roast or a mushroom and ale pie.

Fourth in this impressive quartet is a fine 95pt Médoc from a small château in Saint-Christoly owned by Fabien and Amélie Faget. This has “good tension and focus … with a firm and chewy mid-palate, nicely filled with vibrant dark fruit” (James Suckling).