Château Loubière, Bordeaux Supérieur

This is a classic, traditional Bordeaux with modern stylistic nuance. It is, if you like, a familiar friend but one that over delivers when you don't really expect it to do so. Sure, it's a classic Bordeaux; sure it's made of the regular blend; grown in the almost no-man's-land with little specificity or distinction; BUT it is made by superb practitioners who grow and harvest exceptionally well-maintained grapes, which gives the supplier, a juicy, structured and complex wine that punches way above its rather lowly appellation status.

This is the sort of Bordeaux that we love to sell.

Made by the Techeney family, established between the city of Bordeaux and the commune of Libourne in the early 19th-century, Château Loubière is actually very-well established though you'd be forgiven if it's the first time you've ever heard of it. These sort of properties that fall outside of the celebrated communes are often overlooked. Wine is made continually and in many cases at exceptional quality-levels, but fashions and trends mean that those in positions of power when it comes to buying, favour other properties on account of their address... Look, there's a huge conversation to be had as to why some plots of land in Bordeaux really are better than others, which can and do yield better and more complex wine. But often, properties with similar raw materials and the same skill range, situated in different subzones, will achieve differing market prices and differing audiences simply on account of the lines drawn by the appellation. 

It's not fair, but it does mean that when you come across something as good as this. you can really get enthused and shout about it! Alcohol here is at quite an alarming level, but the organic farming seems to be able to balance with natural acidity and a panoply of rich red and dark fruit flavours. from the 2019 vintage it's got huge amounts going for it: age-worthy and really classy. 

A very convincing wine that, if it were from Saint Émilion, would be much, much more expensive. Made of 88% Merlot from vines over 40 years old and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, the property is in the commune of Montussan, to the south of the city and to the south of the Entre-deux-Mers appellation, the other side of the Dordogne river and west by a wee bit over from Saint Émilion.