Bordeaux is home to many of the most famous and expensive wines in the world. But it’s a huge region, and also produces well priced wines that dramatically overperform their pricetag. One of our favorite places to find value in Bordeaux is at the Cru Bourgeois level.
This Médoc classification, revived in 2010, is earned each year, and awarded based on the quality of the wine rather than the name of the chateau. Of the few hundred cuvées awarded the status each year, the best include, to quote Vinous’s Neal Martin, “a clutch of fabulous wines that I bet could be sneaked into a blind tasting of Grand Cru Classé and nobody would notice.”
Today’s wine is a case in point: a no-brainer everyday Bordeaux for $5/glass
We’ve just restocked on the 2016 Chateau Ramafort Cru Bourgeois, and it’s just terrific. The 50/50 Cab/Merlot blend has shed its youthful awkwardness, and today drinks as a perfectly mature red Bordeaux at an astonishing price. The tannins are silky and perfectly balanced texture — as good as weeknight Bordeaux gets.
Martin awarded 91 points, finding “a very attractive bouquet with blackberry, briary and cedar aromas.” He went on to find “fine grain tannin” and a “silky finish,” before concluding finally “Yes, yes, yes!” Martin suggests a now-2035 drinking window — the pile in the warehouse may not last the summer.
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Ramafort Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2016
bottle price: $25
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES
