Wine Country: France

Wine Subregion: Bordeaux

Man, this is our kinda wine!  Rich, characterful, lovely to drink and affordable!  Even Frank, PRIMA’s ‘Minister of Value’ agrees, Chateau La Chapelle’s certified organically-farmed 100% Merlot cuvee from Bordeaux’s Right Bank St. Emilion is stone deal!  We’d never heard of this small property before because, it turns out, almost its entire production disappears into Paris and Bordeaux itself where it is considered a top bistro wine.  Family owned for four generations, several parcels of the hillside vines next to the Gironde estuary for this cuvee, La Chapelle’s main wine, are over a hundred years old!  The guy that imported this told me he bought all he could get his hands on but that was a drop in the ocean compared to what he thought he could sell.  We agreed!  It’s dark, juicy and oh-so-pleasant to drink- even now- with plenty of Merlot’s dark plummy, dusky fruit leading the charge with surprising nuance to a nose that offers up cedar, a touch of smoky wood and hints of of tapenade, tar, dried blueberry and woodsy spice.  Midweight but mouthfilling, it’ll probably only improve over the next five to eight years but we can’t really think of a good reason to wait any longer!  In stock.
 
Wine Enthusiast: A fruity pure Merlot wine that has spice and tannins as well as juicy black fruits. Smoky with a jammy character that still allows room for acidity, the wine is likely to be ready to drink from 2025. Organic. 91 points
James Suckling: Aromas of dark plums, dark cherries, violets, wet earth, marmite and cigar box. Medium-bodied with fine, powdery tannins. Dark and chocolatey with a fleshy texture and a dense, flavorful finish. Compact. 100% merlot. From organically grown grapes. Try from 2023. 91 Points