Château Tour Bayard, Montagne-Saint-Émilion, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, France 2018

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc

The Château Tour Bayard has only been in the family since 1956, but the Nicoletti-Richards have already demonstrated great skill in bringing out the best in the land. Unlike some of their fancier neighbors, these Right Bank vignerons get a little earth under their fingernails. The Richards also plant other crops in addition to their vines, but it is their Montagne St-Émilion that surprises year after year with its firm, chewy tannins, plump fruit, and incredible value.

Montagne St-Émilion is regarded as a “satellite appellation” of St-Émilion. While it shares much of St-Émilion’s elegance and quality, the wines are a fraction of the price and the estates much less corporate than those in the neighboring hillside town. The Richards tend ten hectares of forty-year-old vines, deeply rooted in clay and limestone soils in a perfectly exposed natural amphitheater where they incorporate organic methods, shunning chemical pesticides in favor of natural composts which encourage microbiological activity in the soil.

All vineyard parcels are hand picked and vinified separately. This terrifically bold Montagne St-Émilion is another amazing selection that is approachable enough to be enjoyed now and intense enough to age happily in your cellar for years to come.