Bordeaux, 2018. Chateau Galau

The history of this estate is ancient; the property existed long before the French Revolution and was called "Cru de Nodoz". Count Nodoz sold it in 1791 to the M. J. J. Bordes' family, well-known merchant shipowners in Bordeaux. During the wine crisis of 1930, it was purchased by the Magdeleine family from the merchants Posso and Rosenfeld. Jean-Louis Magdeleine and his wife Josiane restored the vineyard in the late 1980s. In 2002, Sandrine Magdeleine-Cenac and her husband, Jean-Francois Cenac, arrived on the scene and decided to continue the work of the last few generations.

Cotes de Bourg is an appellation on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux region, producing mainly red wine. The soil in this region is a mix of clay, sand, and gravel. Merlot thrives in areas with cooler, moist, clay-rich soils, while Cabernet Sauvignon does better in the gravel and sand dominant parts of the region. Typically, wines from this region are significantly less expensive than other Bordeaux wines. For this wine, temperature-controlled fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks before it is clarified with egg whites and aged for 18 months in new and used oak barrels.

The wine opens with woody and fruity aromas, which gives it a beautiful structure and good years of aging ahead of it. These aromas of red fruit and woodsy notes lead way to raspberry, red fruit, pepper, bay leaf, licorice, oak, and clove on the palate. Open this bottle to let it breathe a little or keep for a few years in your cellar. Pair it with hard aged cheeses and charcuterie, or red meats, such as roast lamb with rosemary or grilled beef skewers.

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