One of the 3 best red wines I've had this year...🤩
11.02.2023
2018 Chateau Malartic-Lagravière
750ml Bottle
Release Price: $85.00
Total Wine Price: $69.97 (Click HERE to see)
winestore. Price: $59.99 (net)
1.5L Bottle (MAGNUM)
Release Price: $170.00
Total Wine Price: $169.99 (Click HERE to see)
winestore. Price: $119.99 (net)
*Curbside Pickup Always Available*
We rarely focus on expensive wines in this newsletter, mostly because expensive wines are supposed to taste good. If you spend $60 on a bottle of wine, expectations are sky high. It is much tougher to find those gems that outkick their coverage at the $10-$15 price range.
That said, every now and again we come across a wine that is so special, you just have to know about it.
Back in May we released for you the 2015 and 2016 Chateau Malartic LaGraviere, the best collectible Bordeaux bottles we tasted on a buying trip to France back in February. We approached the Chateau (after you all bought everything we had) and asked if they had anything else we could taste, and amongst a smattering of samples they mailed us was the 2018 vintage of their flagship wine.
I can easily say this is one of the 3 best red wines I’ve had this year, and it may be the best. No hyperbole. This stuff is the real deal.
As we told you before regarding this estate, the thing about Bordeaux is that there is so much history and, unlike Burgundy, we actually know the details. That’s because Bordeaux has always been the domain of the upper crust, and people keep track of such things. This chateau started its life as Domaine de Lagraviere but after the Malartic family bought it in the 1850s, they appended their name to it, in honor of their favored son, Comte Anne-Joseph-Hippolyte Maures de Malartic (what a name), a well-known French Navy Admiral (that’s why they have a boat on their logo). The Bonnie family (soap magnates) bought it in 1997 and have dropped $20 million on fancying it up. It’s worked. Each of their last twenty vintages, whether strong or shaky, are beyond excellent.
It’s tough for me to explain how excited a wine like this makes me, especially from Bordeaux. Prices for the prize gems in the region have gone parabolic, and it’s tough to weed through some of the more “affordable" wines and find something that really stands out. Prior to February I had never even heard of this estate, and if we’re being honest the only reason we tasted it is we thought the label was cool (the label is cool). Boy, am I glad we did.
Age-worthy Bordeaux of this quality for less than $60 and magnums for less than $120, both packed in sealed wooden boxes, is what I want to be collecting, drinking, and sharing with friends. No, it’s not an everyday wine price point - but this is a price point where wine lovers of all sophistication can dip their toe in and find a world class wine that can last as long as they would ever want to age it.
I bought a case and two six packs of magnums for myself…and while my wife may never forgive me, I feel like it needed to be done 😂. I mean, the holidays are coming up, right?!?!?!?
We've only had the wine in stock for a few weeks but you know you're onto something good when people take the time to e-mail you after they drink something. Some responses we have gotten over the last few days include:
So get while the gettin's is good!
I'm not drinking this tonight, but I will be this weekend!
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