Château de la Coste is a second label of Margaux’s Château Paveil de Luze, which has been in the Barons de Luze family since the 1800s. Paveil de Luze is situated near the northern end of the Margaux AOC, just west of the town of Soussans. Frédérick de Luze, along with his sisters, Marguerite and Catherine, are the seventh generation of their family to run the château, where they farm 32 hectares of vineyards rooted in deep Margaux gravel. The Château de la Coste bottling is a product of the younger vines on the property and is typically comprised of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Consulting enologist Stéphane Fort heads the team in the cellar, where this wine is fermented in stainless steel and aged 12 months in 25% new French oak barriques before bottling.

The Margaux appellation is known for wines the combine power with often ‘feminine’ grace, and while 2015 was widely known across Europe for producing heavier, inkier reds, this one stayed true to classical form (check out the scores—and prices—for First Growth Château Margaux for a startling indicator of how well the vintage was received). There is plenty of ripe fruit and the tannins are mature and fine-grained, but the wine overall is really only a shade heavier than medium bodied, with perfumed aromas and a long finish. In the glass, it displays an opaque ruby core moving to garnet and pink highlights at the rim, and it needs about 30 minutes of air to lose its youthful reticence and release its complex aromas of black plum, blackberry, cassis, dried violets, graphite, tobacco, and crushed black stones. It teeters back-and-forth between sweet and savory while delivering an appealing mix of fine-grained tannin and freshness on the palate. It’s a focused, nimble, aromatic style of young Margaux, delicious to drink now and likely more of a short-term ager, with its peak likely coming in the next 3-5 years. Serve it in Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees and try it with something a little fancy, like the attached Gordon Ramsay take on Steak Diane. You’ll be glad you went the extra mile. Cheers!