2016 Les Fiefs de Lagrange St Julien, Bordeaux, France (750ml)   

With its red and black currant fruit, trace of graphite and tobacco, this a textbook example of red Bordeaux - and a solid value as well. La Peyre's vineyards cover about 1.2 hectares and sit on gravel-infused soil. The vines are of an average age of 25 years (as of 2011). The grape blend for the Haut-Médoc is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

After a manual harvest, the alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks; at the conclusion of that phase of the vinification, the wine is racked into small barrels to clarify for an additional year before bottling. Production is on the order of 8000 bottles per annum; 3000 bottles are reserved for our use for the US market.