[NOTE: This wine will be shipping from our warehouse on January 28th.]

Chateâu Moulin de Tricot is one of the last small family properties producing traditional, hand-made examples of Margaux. Established in the 1800s, this family only bottles one wine from the appellation. No reserve bottlings, no second labels, no purchased fruit, and no BS. The current generation of vignerons, Bruno and Pascale Rey, farm a 4.7-hectare parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted on Bordeaux’s sandy-gravel soils. Bruno and Pascale’s ancestors have been planting and replanting this same vineyard since the mid-1800s, but the average age of vines is currently 35 years old. All fruit is organically grown, harvested and sorted by hand. Fruit is de-stemmed before fermentation in stainless steel tanks with no addition of synthetic yeasts. After the juice is pressed off the skins, it is returned to the same tanks to undergo natural malolactic fermentation. Finally, the wine is racked into a collection of small, neutral oak barrels where it ages 18+ months until an unfiltered bottling. In general, the process takes several years between harvest and the release of a mere 300 cases to North America.

I first want to stress that this wine has extraordinary cellaring potential. The older bottles of Moulin de Tricot Margaux I’ve enjoyed have been stunning, with an extra dose of mystique and aromatic complexity. So, before anything, I want to make it clear that this wine—like all top Bordeaux reds—will undoubtedly reward those wise enough to set aside a few bottles in the back corner of their cellar. However, after championing this label for many years, I can confidently say this bottle has shown the greatest amount of pleasure in its youth. That’s the benefit of the warm, ripe 2015 vintage and the skilled hand of an ultra-classic producer. Now, onto notes: Chateâu Moulin de Tricot’s 2015 Margaux shows an impenetrable dark garnet-ruby core with light ruby reflections on the rim and explodes with a dazzling array of fruits, flowers, minerals, and raw earth. Expect a rush of currants, red cherries, black raspberries, plums, violet, rose petal, forest flora, cedar, and pipe tobacco. It’s a savory, elegant Bordeaux, not the brooding, extracted, heavyset kind you can certainly find in these high-scoring blockbuster vintages. There are no jagged edges or dropped stitches of any kind. It’s perfectly detailed and sublime in every way, with fine-grained, polished tannins and a resoundingly silken finish full of freshness, savor, and sophistication. Please decant 30-60 minutes prior to service in large Bordeaux stems and serve alongside a whopping medium-rare portion of filet drenched in the attached bordelaise sauce. Cheers!