Chateau de Respide Reserve 2020, Graves

Graves is named for the gravel under its vines, and it gets ignored while everyone argues about the Medoc. One of the cheapest clarets I have in stock.

The Estate Respide is one of the oldest properties in Graves. A land register first mentions it in 1604, and its vines are on record by 1630. The château itself went up in the second half of the eighteenth century, in the Italian style, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec stayed there often and had a taste for its whites. The Bonnet family bought the estate in 1952 and ran it for three generations. In 2021 it passed to Amélie and Pierre-Edouard Chatin, Amélie having spent nine years making wine at Ruinart in Champagne and four in Uruguay, so this 2020 was made before they arrived. The estate has held France's HVE certification for environmental farming since 2017.

The Vineyard Respide farms 85 hectares around Roaillan, in three main plots. The ground is what gives the appellation its name: gravel carried down by the Garonne, laid over clay, with limestone on the lower slopes.

Tasting Note A bright, lively red. Red fruit on the nose with a balsamic edge, then a concentrated, rounded palate carrying the spice you find in red Graves.

Ageing Six months in oak barrels before bottling.

Blend Merlot 67%, Cabernet Sauvignon 33%