2015 Château Bernateau St.-Émilion Grand Cru 750 ml

When Master Sommelier Sur Lucero put the 2015 Château Bernateau St.-Émilion Grand Cru on the table, he said the winemaking regimen was on par with $300 bottles. But by the time he got to the specifics, we were already obsessing over the extravagance and depth in the glass. Then, with a wide grin, Sur stopped us in our tracks by telling us the price.

We could hardly believe it. This wine’s sophistication and layers, 95-point score, outstanding vintage, and detail-oriented winemaking should easily add up to triple digits.

Winemaker Pierrick Lavau’s detail-obsessed methods are what make Château Bernateau one of St.-Émilion’s truly exemplary small producers—techniques that you rarely see in an under-$40 wine because they’re a serious investment of time and money. His intensive, hands-on approach is embodied by his fermenters: custom-made combinations of oak and stainless steel with plexiglass windows so he can continuously monitor the progress. 

The whole winery is state-of-the-art, like their optical sorting machine, which measures every single grape by size, color, and shape. And if that wasn’t enough, Lavau sorts them again by hand, and ages the wine in a large percentage of new French oak—practices that typically result in much pricier bottles. 

That keen attention to detail translates to a rich and polished 2015, one that warrants taking the bottle to another room, just to enjoy it without distraction. Black fruit aromas give way to a silky palate full of herbal spice, sweet pipe tobacco, and warm earth. It doesn’t lose any steam from the first glass to the last drops in the bottle, which you’ll likely be coaxing out, just for one more taste. 

This is a wine that shows the impeccable generosity of the 2015 vintage. Even during a historic season, “St.-Émilion was a high spot,” according to Wine Spectator, and smaller producers made wines that are “just as satisfying as the big names,” said Wine Enthusiast. They might as well have inserted Château Bernateau’s name there, because this small estate’s 2015 belongs right up there with the best of them. 

Château Bernateau is a stone’s throw away from the village of St.-Émilion, and surrounded by the region’s charming rolling hills. But even more exquisite is what’s beyond the château’s gate. 40-year-old vines thrive in organically-farmed clay-limestone soils, which lend this wine its richness and balance. The estate has been certified organic since 2012, and that dedication to purity, complemented by Lavau’s cutting edge vinification processes, is why this wine delivers well beyond its price point.