2014 Chateau de France Chateau de France Pessac Leognan 750 ml

Beating Haut Brion’s Sole Competition

A Michel Rolland Bordeaux earning a jaw-dropping score is not news. But a Rolland-crafted Wine Enthusiast 95-pointer going for under-$35 is a shock-and-awe headline. Thanks to the expertise of Rolland—consulting winemaker for Château Ausone, Harlan Estate and countless other world-class Bordeaux and Napa properties—the 2014 Château de France Pessac-Léognan is on par with the best of the region: Its 95 points equalled the score of the 2014 Haut-Bailly, which is commonly thought of as Château Haut-Brion’s sole competition in Pessac-Léognan. This is the kind of Bordeaux we beat the bushes for. It is a wine to fetch from the cellar in order to prove that it is possible to find serious, age-worthy Claret without breaking the bank. 

We have been known to tout price-to-score ratio from time to time, and it’s hard to think of a wine region where a 95-point score means more than in Bordeaux, where impressive scores are usually hoarded by intimidating châteaux whose bottlings fetch hundreds of dollars on release. This is a rarity, and a wine to watch in the cellar. Here’s why:

When Bernard Thomassin acquired Château de France in 1971, the property in Léognan was more than 70 years past its 19th-century glory days. But the raw materials for top-quality Bordeaux were still there: The property had deep, gravelly Pyrenean soil on top of chalky clay subsoils, and gorgeous sunny exposures on one of the highest slopes of the commune.

According to Robert Parker, Thomassin “spared no expense” in improving the property and its product, and closing the gap with his more-renowned neighbors, Château Haut-Bailly and Château de Fieuzal. By the time Parker assessed the wines of Pessac-Leognan in 2003, he was singing the praises of Château de France’s “traditionally-styled, soundly-made wines that deliver the goods, and even more than that in the best vintages.”

In 2011, a fire at Château de France destroyed part of the winemaking facility and the entire 2010 vintage. But this setback would mark the beginning of the château’s second return to glory—a beginning that Bernard Thomassin would witness before passing away in 2013. The new winemaking facility became fully operational in 2014, just in time for harvest, and the results of the renewal—not to mention the influence of Michel Rolland, perhaps the most celebrated international winemaker on the planet—are apparent in Château de France’s 95-point 2014 vintage.