My Favorite Wine, March 7, 2019

2016 Duc des Nauves

Cotes des Bordeaux, FR

Regular price $28.99

Sale Price $22.99

Those of you that read this space regularly know that I am not particularly wowed by wines from Bordeaux. I mean, sure, the wines are fine, and often very good, but just as often, pretty expensive and uninspiring. And frankly, many wines from Bordeaux have followed the trend towards ripeness and rather than tasting like they are from Bordeaux, they taste like big, rich, ripe Merlot (which is the largest planted grape in Bordeaux) from anywhere.

So what makes this wine different?

Well, this is the ‘second’ label from Chateau Le Puy, the 400 year old winery (still controlled by the founding family) in the northeast of Bordeaux. The wines from Le Puy are insanely good; fresh, savory, harmonious, and elegant. They are really Bordeaux for Burgundy lovers, as they offer none of the overpowering ‘oak and fruit’ flavors of modern Bordeaux. I’ve been making cooing noises about the 2015 Le Puy ‘Emilien’ for some months now.

This, the 2016 Duc des Nauves, also of mostly Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon,  shows the same polish and balance of the ‘Emilien’, but with perhaps more exuberance, an indication of its youth and shorter time in both concrete and bottle. Incredibly fresh and lively, it’s a wine of pure pleasure. It might improve with age, but why wait?