Château Cantemerle, Grand Cru Classé, 2018

Attention all lovers of Bordeaux!

This has to be one of the best value Châteaux that we have ever sold.

Last year we managed to sell the delicious 2020 vintage: this year we've got the even better, more mature 2018 vintage - this is very good news!

This is cellar-worthy Grand Cru Classé wine, approaching its plateau of delicious drinking in tip-tip drinking condition. This deeply impressive and hugely respected property is one of the very few Châteaux to be classified in 1855 that is not based within one of the famed communes. This has somewhat stunted its ability to continually increase prices, while the quality of the property has - perhaps contrarily - continued to grow and grow and grow.

Château Cantemerle, one of the original Grand Cru Classé wines from the classification of 1855, is a highly-esteemed winery in the Haut-Médoc region. The Château is the commune of Macau, not too far north of the city of Bordeaux and Pessac-Léognan and just south of Margaux.

It  is one of the oldest wineries in the Haut-Médoc region, with records dating back to the 13th century, and it was the one of the very last wines to make the classification list. It's a 5ème Grand Cru classé or "fifth growth", after what was reportedly intense lobbying by members of the Villeneuve family, though they were hardly the only people "passing envelopes" to alter the process. They bought Cantemerle in 1579 and kept it in the family until they sold-up in 1892.

The estate has 90 hectares of vineyards, which are planted with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, in much the same way that a Margaux or Pessac property might be planted. Grapes are then hand harvested and follow a very traditional vinification including a 12 month ageing in barriques, of which half are new.

It is almost always an elegant, refined wine that captures the spirit of the this in-between land (neither Margaux not Pessac) and shows elements of both: perfume from Margaux and Cassis-pencil-lead from Pessac. The property is known for wines of vibrant colour, generous aromatics and full-bodied flavours. Remarkably, the wines maintain their high quality even after ageing for several decades and the property is never one to be questioned over its justification of status (regardless of potential lobbying back in the day, it appears that the decision was a fair one... the 1855 equivalent of VAR...)

James Suckling, 94-95 Points

"A rich and layered young Bordeaux with a solid center palate of ripe fruit and coated with ripe and polished tannins. Tightly wound ball now. Pretty texture and length to this."

Matthew Jukes, 17+ Points

(67 Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 Merlot, 7 Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 Petit Verdot) | 40% new oak for 12 months This is a lovely Cantemerle and it is not too dark or extracted, preferring to major in red fruit tones. Nicely-judged, the oak and tannin are in harmony, too. This is a success for Cantemerle and it is a rare wine which is red cherry-themed as opposed to black cherry-themed in this vintage.