2019 Chateau Maillet Pomerol 750 ml

It’s extremely rare to make new discoveries in Pomerol. The smallest of the major Bordeaux appellations, its limited acreage gets gobbled up by iconic, long-established chateaux like Pétrus.

But the 2019 Chateau Maillet, a thrilling recent addition to the Right Bank canon, is one of those diamond-in-the-rough finds that quickens our pulses and sets us racing to grab as many bottles as we can. It’s a 95-pointer that Jeb Dunnuck called “brilliant stuff” and “a complete, balanced, layered Pomerol that does everything right.” 

The 2019 Maillet bottling’s sumptuous Merlot-led blend is a collaboration between the Moze-Berthon family—which has a history with this property dating back to 1820—and consultant Hubert de Boüard, co-owner of Château Angélus.

With this project, they sought to create a kind of micro-expression of Pomerol terroir from a very small plot of land—the vineyard comprises just 11 acres—planted 95% to Merlot and 5% to Cabernet Franc. Boosted by the superb 2019 vintage, the wine hits its stride brilliantly, leading Vinous to speculate: “This must surely be the best Maillet produced to date?”

One member of our wine team summed up how we were all feeling at our judging panel as we sat blown away by the purple-hued blend: “This is not a shy mouthful of wine!” A classic statement of the appellation, it’s opulent and dense but finely etched with detail.

Vinified in barrel and aged in 100% French oak, the 2019 Maillet is the kind of Pomerol value many buyers have written off as impossible to find. However, it turns out that even in a corner of Bordeaux as old and revered as this one, new surprises still come around.