The tiny Domaine de Galouchey is headquartered in the town of Beychac-et-Caillau, just west of Libourne on the south bank of the Dordogne River. There’s just a single hectare of vines, planted by hand in 2002 on a “virgin” piece of land. In addition to usual suspects like Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, there’s also Carmenère, Petit Verdot, and an assortment of whites—all of which (nine varieties in total) are used in the “Le Galouchey” cuvée.

Marco Pelletier is a Master Sommelier and restaurateur whose past gigs included stints at major wine meccas like Taillevent and Epicure at Le Bristol. He has a long history with Bordeaux wines, but for this wine, he and his partners (old friends Jean Terrade, and Gérard Pantanacce) aim to produce what they call a “garden wine”—a hand-farmed, handmade wine of deliberately modest, “drink everyday” ambitions. They’ve accomplished a lot more than that with this wine, but you’d never know it from the price.

Why You’ll Love it:

• Each of the nine varieties are separately harvested by hand, manually de-stemmed (berry by berry) and separately fermented in stainless steel over indigenous yeasts.

• Plush, silky, and opulent but with a mineral with aromas and flavors of violets, black plum, and blueberry mixed with cocoa powder, leather, crushed gravel, and tobacco. 

• Aged in three- and four-year-old Bordeaux and Burgundy barrels for 30 months. 

How To Serve It: 

• Decant it about 30 minutes before enjoying 

• Serve at about 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems

• Serve with Grilled Lambchops, Boeuf Bourguignon, Wild Mushroom risotto and/or authoritative cheeses like Roquefort and aged Comté