2018 Chateau de l'Anglais Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion 750 ml

Pierre Troisgros lived and breathed food-and-wine excellence. The late chef and restaurateur was an icon of French cuisine, and his restaurant has held three MICHELIN stars for a staggering 55 years. The wine list there has always boasted stellar bottles from around the world.

But Troisgros loved Château de l'Anglais so much that he had to buy it.

During his tenure, he sold the five-acre property’s wines almost exclusively in his world-renowned restaurants and to in-the-know locals, exporting very little. It’s always been a secret Bordeaux treasure, and as the estate’s luxurious and aromatic 2018 shows, it’s one worth seeking out.

Like other wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank, it features Merlot, but while some estates blend in varieties like Cab Franc, l’Anglais is 100% Merlot, delivering a thoroughly well-balanced, satisfying experience. Integrated tannins pair with buoyant acidity on a palate rich with notes of red raspberries, violets, pipe tobacco, and roasted red meat.

The estate, which is now owned by the son of Troisgros’s childhood friend, sits just northeast of Saint-Émilion in the Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion AOC, part of the region’s four “satellite appellations.” It’s slightly cooler than Saint-Émilion, and has the strictest production laws of all the satellites.

The 2018 vintage arrived with unrelenting rains, but when summer showed up, it did so decisively. Temperatures climbed high and stayed there, yielding concentrated fruit and “outstanding wines at all levels,” according to Antonio Galloni of Vinous. The wines of the Right Bank satellites in particular, he said, have “an extra level of juiciness that makes them incredibly appealing.”

That’s especially evident in this 2018 Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion. Aged for 16 months in French oak, it’s a succulent, provocative, and eminently drinkable wine.