Bordeaux (Red)
The great city of Bordeaux, with its extraordinary combination of narrow medieval streets and wide 18th and 19th century boulevards, gives its name to one of the greatest wine producing regions of the world. It is the historical capital of Aquitaine - whose most famous daughter, Eleanor, married firstly King Louis VII of France and secondly (following an annullment) King Henry II of England. Thus control of Aquitaine passed to the English Crown, where it remained until the end of the 100 Years War in 1453.
But while the formal ties between England and Aquitaine came to an end, the trade links established at the time have remained strong ever since. Much of the wine produced in the region, and further afield in South West France, was exported from Bordeaux to the great English ports of London, Southampton, Bristol and Liverpool. Many English and Irish families settled in the region - most famously the Talbots, Bartons, Lynches and Johnstones - names which still resonate, illustrating the enduring power of the links established through the wine trade over many centuries.
Today the great red wines of Bordeaux, known to the English speaking world as Claret, are among the most famous and sought after in the world. But though the stage may be dominated by the left bank properties classified in 1855, and the great châteaux of the right bank appellations of St Emilion and Pomerol, there are also a great many unsung heros producing wines of real class and style across the region and its satellites.
Château Calon Ségur
This great 74 hectare estate in St Estèphe is the most northerly of all the classified growth properties and has belonged to the Gasqueton family for the last century. The heart on the label is a reference to the comment of a previous owner, the Marquis de Ségur who also then owned Châteaux Lafite and Latour, that "I make my wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is in Calon." After a period of underachievement, the estate was taken over by the widowed Madame Denise Capbern-Gasqueton and under her direction has been producing some of the finest, most classically styled clarets of the appellation. Year after year, the wines have been at the top of their game, and reasonably priced relative to their peers. To our immense sadness, Madame Gasqueton died in September 2011 at the age of 88. She was one of the few proprietors in Bordeaux who would receive visitors herself, taste with them and discuss her wine and the vintage conditions - and we were always received with great warmth and charm. With her passing Bordeaux has lost one of its true 'greats'.
Red
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2021 Château Calon Ségur, 3ème Cru St Estèphe x 66 Bottles£534.00£660.00
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