Friday, February 10, 2023

My Ever Favorite Wines #2



I had the chance to taste what are, for me, the best wines in the world. Of course, it's better not to look at the prices but just close your eyes and taste... but if I can recommend a fabulous and affordable wine, run and buy a bottle of Connétable Talbot or Moulin de La Lagune, you won't regret it.





Château Talbot
: Château Talbot is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Talbot is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. It was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes Crus Classés (Fourth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The Château used to be the property of Sir John Talbot, Governor of Aquitaine, Earl of Shrewsbury, in the 15th century. The property belonged to the Marquis of Aux for several decades, receiving its first Cocks & Féret lists in 1846 and 1855 and fourth growth classification in 1855, was then bought by Monsieur A. Claverie in 1899, before being acquired by Désiré Cordier in 1917. His son Georges, then his grandson Jean inherited the property and since his death in 1993 the present owners are his daughters Lorraine Rustmann and Nancy Bignon-Cordier, the fourth generation of the Cordier family. The vineyard area of Chateau Talbot extends 102 hectares (250 acres), located a short distance from the Gironde estuary, is among the largest in Bordeaux. The vineyard is on fine gravelly rises, which are well drained. The distribution of red wine grape varieties is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot.





Château La Lagune
: Château La Lagune is a winery in the Haut-Médoc appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Rescued from dereliction in 1954 by Georges Brunet, La Lagune was subsequently sold to the Ducellier family of Champagne Ayala. In 2000, both La Lagune and Champagne Ayala were sold to the Frey family. Ayala was then sold to the House of Bollinger, and the Frey family acquired Maison Jaboulet in the Rhone. The Freys are also a substantial but not majority shareholders of Billecart-Salmon, the producer in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Located in the commune of Ludon, La Lagune has 72 hectares (180 acres) under vine with a grape variety distribution of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Petit Verdot.





Château Léoville-Poyferré
: Château Léoville-Poyferré is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville-Poyferré is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Léoville-Poyferré was once part of the much larger Léoville estate until the time of the French Revolution when it was separated into Château Léoville-Las Cases and Château Léoville-Barton. In 1840, Château Léoville-Las Cases was again divided forming Château Léoville-Poyferré which went to Baron de Poyferré when he married the daughter of Jean de Las-Cases.





Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
: Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The estate Château Ducru-Beaucaillou was purchased by Francois Borie in 1941 and has remained in the family since then. The family also owns other estates, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Château Haut-Batailley. In the mid-1980s the estate battled an infestation of TCA in their cellars that marred several vintages including the 1988, 1989, and 1990. The Chateau has since corrected the problem, and today the wines are fermented and aged in a new underground cellar created in the late 1990s. Today the estate is managed by Bruno Borie. Ducru-Beaucaillou's vineyards consist of 50 hectares of well-drained gravel with stones up to 2.5 inches in diameter. (beaucaillou means "beautiful stones".) The vineyards are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Merlot (30%); previous plantings of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot having been uprooted. The vines' average age in 2005 was 38 years. 

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