2015 Chateau Le Pey Medoc 750 ml

The Under-$20 Bordeaux Beloved By Médoc Locals

We count this dazzling little chateau—whose 2015 won “Editor’s Choice” from Wine Enthusiast—as one of our greatest finds in the $15 Bordeaux category. It’s the type of Médoc that doesn’t often make it out of France, but that is among the most charming, heart-warming wines to encounter.

We first found the 2015 Château Le Pey at a little boîte off a side road of D1215: a quiet place with white tablecloths, wood rafters, and our favorite plate of fork-tender, braised short ribs. It’s since become a go-to value red—showing superb brightness packed with blackcurrant and Damson plum and warm, rich spice aromas—and a reminder of just how fantastic red Bordeaux can be for less than $20. Medium-bodied and silky, with complex savory notes, we knew from that dinner alone we had to share this on American shores, and didn’t waste time getting it straight from the Gironde to you.

If you want to drink as the locals do in the Médoc, bring home a case of this.

A true vigneron, proprietor Claude Compagnet’s time is taken up entirely by winemaking. More artist than businessman, his wine is a spectacular value that flies under the radar of most importers. But Claude has a decades-old reputation in the Médoc for producing superbly structured and intensely aromatic Bordeaux—plus a band of devoted Bordelaise followers—and that’s the winemaking reputation we hunt for day-in and day-out. Today, his devotion to the vineyard—rather than the marketing machine of modern wine sales—is your gain, because you can taste his skill without trekking to Bordeaux. And at the best price in the nation on cases, Château Le Pey’s ruby-hued, aromatic red can be on your table often.

Located north of Saint-Estèphe, Claude’s vineyards are filled with limestone-rich clay, giving the wine freshness and lift. Claude, his wife Françoise, and their children Olivier and Pierre cultivate the vines and oversee vinification and sales, making this a robust family-run operation, investing each bottle with care and personal attention, not to mention the same density, yields, and precision as nearby Cru Classé estates. This 2015 bears trademark Le Pey characteristics: smoky vanilla aromas, fine-grained tannins, rich cassis, and black fruit notes.

“Bordeaux is really back with 2015,” declared James Suckling, who awarded the most perfect scores ever in his forty years of wine criticism. In a year of balance and freshness, Château Le Pey made a gem of a wine that you would usually have trouble finding if you weren’t within a mile or two of the Gironde. Drink now or let this bargain beauty grow supple with age for another decade.