2012 Domaine de Baron'Arques Limoux La Capitelle 750 ml

Bordeaux Royalty: "An Estate to Watch!" —Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate

Last summer, at the end of a week spent crisscrossing through St. Helena, Yountville, and Rutherford for the annual Auction Napa Valley, we received a tantalizing invitation. A general manager from a top French wine estate (no names, sorry) offered us a seat at a VIP comparative blind tasting in San Francisco. This promised to be good.

We drove into the Bay Area and arrived at Mourad at 8 p.m. sharp, the dark interior of the restaurant filled with rustic Moroccan scents of herb-rubbed lamb and grilled flatbread. Guided back into a private room, we found ourselves in the company of some of California’s top sommeliers, winemakers, and winery GMs. Resting on the long dining table in front of our chair were two empty Riedel stems, one Burgundy and one Bordeaux.

The tasting began and we went through a number of rounds featuring an array of impressive expressions, but one round in particular proved to be the most unforgettable of the night. Showing a gorgeous deep-purple hue in the glass, the nose was incredibly rich but still exquisite and precise: plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, and spice, framed by a touch of oak. Expert craftsmanship was evident immediately — but whose?

When the bottle was unveiled, we looked at it sideways.

The Rothschild name, of course, has a long and prestigious legacy threaded throughout wine history. In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild founded the illustrious Château Mouton estate, which was eventually recognized as having First Growth status and has produced some of the greatest vintages ever. Over a century later, the Baron’s great-grandson and his wife joined forces with Robert Mondavi in California to found Opus One. After the Baron passed away, the Baroness carried on the family’s commitment to quality of the highest order, as well as a willingness to look beyond Bordeaux for world-class winemaking regions. A collaboration with a preeminent South American winery yielded Almaviva, a venture which set a benchmark for Bordeaux blends from Chile.

In the late 1990s, the Baroness and her sons bought property in Languedoc-Roussillon. An hour inland from the Mediterranean, the elevation in Limoux is higher, the air cooler than the rest of Languedoc, and the rocky soil rich in limestone and schist. She had a hunch that local growers who pushed beefy, heavy Syrah and Grenache varietals had overlooked the region’s true calling. It took a member of Bordelaise royalty like the Baroness herself, steeped in centuries of family winemaking tradition, to see that the real potential there lay in Merlot, the darling of Bordeaux’s Right Bank.

Pulling talent from across the Rothschild empire — Mouton, Opus One, Almaviva — the team in Limoux reformed the estate, implementing world-class fastidious viticultural practice and a new state-of-the-art cellar. They ripped out the Grenache and planted more Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. They called the estate Domaine de Baron’Arques and soon after convinced the EU to grant Limoux its first AOC for red wine.

That night in San Francisco, we were introduced to the Rothschilds’ most recent love affair, the 2012 Domaine de Baron’Arques La Capitelle. Produced in limited qualities since 2008, “La Capitelle” deftly blends Bordeaux and Mediterranean varieties. The 2012 vintage is primarily Merlot, edged with the spice of Syrah and the richness of Malbec,with a small amount of Cabernet Franc contributing subtle structure. Reviewed in April of 2016, The Wine Advocate called for a drinking window over the next 8-10 years for this “pure, elegant and beautifully balanced effort,” and pinned on 90 points — high praise for an under-$20 package.

Opaque purple in color, the 2012 Domaine de Baron’Arques La Capitelle releases exquisite and precise aromas of blackberry, red fruit, intense black currant, and spice. Rich, round, and supple on the attack, yet perfectly balanced. Tightly wound and elegant, with a luscious core of marzipan, black licorice, plum, and tobacco leaf, finishing with fine minerality and long, seductive tannins.

$45 on release. First offered to our members in the fall of 2016, we sold through 600 bottles before lunch. When the importer called last week with a shot at more, we negotiated an even better price! From 45% to 55% off, just $19.99 for perhaps the last 60 cases of the 2012 vintage. NOT TO BE MISSED by Bordeaux lovers or bargain-hunters looking for truly inspired, breathtaking reds under $20