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Château La Vieille Cure, Fronsac

Bordeaux, France 2006 (750mL)
$29.00
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Château La Vieille Cure, Fronsac

We only occasionally acquire wines from private cellars, because, in most cases, those cellars don’t contain sufficient quantities of any one wine to offer to our subscribers. Today’s absolute steal was lurking among many smaller lots of Bordeaux, which were offered to us by a trusted importer friend who’s thinning his personal collection (guys like him have a way of buying more wine than they could ever drink).
He let us cherry pick from his list and here we are—happily in possession, however briefly, of a pristine parcel of decade-old Bordeaux from an intriguing château and appellation. In fact, as you dig deeper into the story of both La Vieille Cure (“the old parsonage”) and the Fronsac AOC, the price for this 2006—roughly the same as current-vintage pricing—might seem at first like a mistake. But it’s not: it’s one of the greatest Bordeaux values we’ll see all year, from an estate whose profile continues to rise. Do like we did and jump on it before it disappears—it’s ready to enjoy right now.
Not only is this another Merlot-driven Bordeaux of undeniable nobility, La Vieille Cure is one of the more visible ambassadors of the Fronsac appellation—arguably one of the most underrated terroirs in all of Bordeaux. Located just west of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, in beautiful rolling hills north of the Dordogne River, Fronsac sits at a slightly higher elevation and has even more limestone in its soil than Saint-Émilion’s famed plateau (along with clay and sand). As in so many of Bordeaux’s lesser-known regions, Fronsac has been a hotbed of investment and renewal; as noted in a 2015 Decanter magazine feature on the region, it counts a substantial number of foreign investors among its château owners, including the American financiers who purchased La Vieille Cure in 1986. Theirs was a top-to-bottom overhaul of the estate, which sits at one of the highest elevations in the zone in the hamlet of Saillans. Some of the property’s 20 hectares of vines—which spread out below the château in a single, contiguous parcel—were replanted, but several plots of very old vines remain. All farming is carried out according to (non-certified) organic principles, with Merlot comprising about 75% of the plantings. Cabernet Franc (about 20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon make up the remainder, and in classic Bordeaux fashion, this is the typical composition of the grand vin’s blend.

La Vieille Cure’s ownership also sought out the advice of multi-talented château owner, négociant, and consultant Jean-Luc Thunevin (known as the “godfather of the garagistes” thanks to the success of his tiny, culty Château Valandraud), and has become perhaps the most critically acclaimed property in the whole of Fronsac. Winemaking has been supervised by Jean-Philippe Fort, part of famed consultant Michel Rolland’s team, and what they accomplished in the difficult 2006 vintage is impressive, indeed: this wine is in its peak drinking window now, with more great drinking still ahead of it.

The 2006 La Vieille Cure was completely hand-harvested, crafted from 100% destemmed fruit, and aged 18 months in French oak barriques—meaning it’s got a full decade of bottle age under its belt now. In the glass, it’s a lustrous garnet red moving to slight hints of brick at the rim, with a vibrant and complex nose of red currant, preserved cherry, dried red and black plum, bay leaf, cedar, tobacco, dried mushroom and subtle oak spice. Medium-plus in body, it is still holding on to a nice core of fruit but has welcomed an array of savory secondary notes to the party: it is peaking now and should continue to drink well over the next five years if kept well. By all means open a bottle or two soon: Decant it for sediment just before service at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems, and watch it unfold and blossom over the course of dinner. At this price, you can afford to make it a party—this would be a great accompaniment to an old-school ‘Sunday roast’ with friends and family. Check out the attached recipe and enjoy one of the great Bordeaux deals of the year!
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Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Sub-Region
FranceFronsac
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Organic
Blend
Merlot 75%, Cabernet Franc 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
30% New French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2022
Decanting
15 Minutes (Sediment)
Pairing
Sunday Roast

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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