Almost every year, wine magazines proclaim a “vintage of the century” or “100-point vintage” somewhere in the world. Most often, this is hype designed to sell advertising. Still, we can all agree, sometimes Mother Nature blesses the world with a truly special vintage. For many of us, 2010 will go down in history as one of the most broadly outstanding vintages in memory.
Mighty Brunello, regal Burgundy, brooding Barolo; all over Europe, wines, both white and red, seem to possess something extra special in this year. Perhaps most stunningly, the 2010 vintage lifts already great Bordeaux properties to a truly magical, not-of-this-Earth state. 2010 Bordeaux deserves all the praise that has already been heaped upon it, and then some. This offer further gilds this already perfect vintage with a quality-obsessed, small family property and some of the best real estate in the region. At six years of age, this 2010 Château La Peyre, Saint-Estèphe, “Cru Artisan,” is nearly at its zenith – it’s a gift any true wine lover deserves.
Château La Peyre’s founders, Dany and René Rabiller, hail from a long line of respected vignerons who were growing grapes for the local cooperative and larger Châteaux long before the family estate could have its own winery. In fact, it wasn’t until 1994 that the Rabillers were able to realize their dream. The winery and the family’s eight hectares are ideally situated in the Marbuzet village of Bordeaux’s famed Saint-Estèphe appellation. Boasting lauded names including Château Montrose, the Saint-Estèphe sub-region of the Médoc is home to some of the most elite Cabernet Sauvignon real estate on the planet. Since founding their winery, the Rabillers have guided Château La Peyre through two decades that have witnessed increased quality and volume. I consider this hidden gem one of my favorite off-the-beaten-path estates in the region. There is an ever-present rusticity and purity to the wines that recalls the best old school Bordeaux of the 1970’s and 1980’s.
As with all great wines, the one truly indispensable part of the equation at Château La Peyre is the soil. Dany and René’s 30+ year-old vines enjoy a patchwork of gravel, limestone and a small amount of clay. The gravel offers optimal drainage; limestone imparts the striking mineral intensity and clay is instrumental in retaining necessary moisture during the area’s parched summers. Dany and René are ruthless in their vineyard maintenance. Vines are pruned aggressively in winter and green harvested throughout the growing season to increase concentration and ripeness when the grapes are finally hand-harvested in the fall. Although these efforts simultaneously lower yields and profits, the benefits are evident in the glass. Château La Peyre offers impressively consistent, robust and concentrated wines, even in cooler years. This wine affirms the old cliché that great wine is made in the vineyard. Still, this family’s obsession with quality doesn’t stop in the vineyards. Following harvest, grapes are meticulously sorted then are left to enjoy a slow, gentle cuvaison (or maceration) in their small cellar, which allows optimal extraction of color, tannins, texture, and flavor. Their wines are aged between 12 and 15 months in 30% new French oak which buys the sometimes rambunctiously youthful wine some time to ease into adolescence. The final destination of this lengthy process is a densely structured, layered and complex wine that harkens back to the golden era of mid 20th-century Bordeaux.
The 2010 Château La Peyre “Cru Artisan” has a dark crimson core moving to reflections of garnet and crimson on the edge. The wine is a textbook aromatic expression of the left bank in the outstanding 2010 vintage – red and black plums, blackcurrant, blackberry, dark chocolate, english tea, wet stone, and violets. This beautiful wine’s palate slowly unfurls with more exotic secondary notes of black truffle, cigar tobacco, and dried roses. Texturally, it hits that sweet spot between layers of intense soil character, soft mocha grip, and luxurious medium-full bodied weight on the palate. It’s perfectly mature and in a wonderful place right now. Please decant 90 minutes then serve at 60-65 degrees in large Bordeaux stems. I encourage you to give this special wine an appropriately special companion at the table. This bottle immediately gets me thinking about rich, luxurious ingredients: black truffles, veal stock, and a preparation that will accommodate this wine’s depth and power. So, if you have the time, take a shot at this
outstanding short rib recipe.
