2015 Chateau de Villambis Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeouis 750 ml

Médoc Excellence Without The Hefty Price Tag

Today’s exceptional under-$20 discovery, the 2015 Château de Villambis Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois, hails from the village of Cissac-Médoc,just west of the more famous village of Pauillac. Brilliant ruby in color, saturated with ripe red fruit framed with cedar, boasting a luscious plum core buttressed by firm tannins, this is Médoc excellence without the hefty price tag of its Pauillac neighbors. 

Made from estate grapes planted roughly five miles west of Château Lafite Rothschild’s First Growth vines in Pauillac, this sumptuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon is an energetic expression of Bordeaux that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called “a well-crafted Haut-Médoc to savor over the next decade,” punctuating the review with: “Bravo.”

One sip of the 2015 Château de Villambis, with its vibrant fruit and fresh, balanced acidity, makes it easy to see why Olivier Poussier, who earned World’s Best Sommelier honors, selected this bottle for Air France’s business class drink menu.

That superb Médoc structure is the product of vineyard director Philippe de Roeck’s management of 37 acres of vines ensconced in Haut-Médoc’s sandy limestone-rich soil, a stone’s throw from Pauillac. Every detail is intentional, including who works the fields. The winery is classified as an Etablissement et Service d’Aide par le Travail, a social program that enables people with learning disabilities to work in vineyards and wine cellars.

That intentionality shines through in the freshness and dense concentration of each bottle of the 2015 Château de Villambis. Drink this expression of Haut-Médoc now for its fruit opulence or wait 5-7 years for its complexities to deepen.