2024 Futures

An oenologist by training, Ms. Papon-Nouvel owns two tiny properties at the bottom of Saint-Émilion near Canon-La Gaffelière: Petit Gravet Aîné (2.4 ha) and Clos Saint-Julien (1.3 ha), where the vines are mainly old cabernets francs. From the vine to the cellar, she manages all the stages in the production of her wines on her own and, whatever the vintage, her talent as an instinctive winemaker gives wines of natural elegance and exemplary sweetness.

Mrs Papon-Nouvel's other grand cru (with Petit Gravet Aîné). Same organic culture, same sensitivity, same style, with extra flesh and depth. Great wine! Great wine, logically promoted to grand cru classé in 2022.

An ultra-refined great wine, with a mineral tension that is out of the ordinary in Bordeaux, the fruit of the great terroir of the Côte Pavie, but also of the complicity of Mr Nicolas Thienpont and Mr Stéphane Derenoncourt since 1994.

Advised by Mr. Derenoncourt, Clos Fourtet regularly and unobtrusively demonstrates that the upper part of the Saint-Émilion plateau can produce wines as great as the Ausone or Pavie hillsides. Sobriety, depth, finesse and intensity are exemplary.

Bought out in 2017 by the reinsurer SCOR, a page is turned in Troplong-Mondot, a formidable terroir in Saint-Emilion. Up to and including 2016, these are the richest in extract and most generous wines of the appellation, made by Christine Valette and her husband, under the aegis of Michel Rolland.

Radical break in style from the 2017 vintage, with less dense but oh so precise, elegant and racy wines, confirmed in 2018 by Mr. Galloni (vinous) "The 2018 is regal, refined and absolutely exquisite", rated 97/100.

Second wine of Ausone, rare (1 ha in production out of the 7 ha of the Ausone vineyard), slightly less powerful but just as racy and energetic as the Grand Vin. And like it, it has a remarkable capacity for ageing.

Like all Vauthier vineyards (Ausone, La Clotte, Moulin Saint-Georges, Haut-Simard...), Chapelle d'Ausone began its conversion to organic farming in 2020.

Impossible to resist the unspeakable complexity of its bouquet, floral and fruity, spicy and liquorice, as well as the incredible depth of its fresh and sumptuous finish. Great art, all the glory of Cabernet Franc on a limestone hillside. Alain Vauthier and his children, Pauline and Édouard, manage the 7 hectares of Ausone like a (very) great Burgundy wine. Magistral!

Since 1994, Michel Tardieu has been selecting and growing wines from very old vines and from the best terroirs of each appellation. Associated until 2007 with Dominique Laurent, known for the concentration of his Burgundy wines, Michel Tardieu has, because of the innate richness of the Rhone Valley wines, always sought to favour elegance and aromatic complexity in his selections.

Promoted two stars in the 2022 Revue du Vin de France guide.

The rare Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is uncompromising, with Syrahs aged from 80 to over 100 years on two plots of land on the hillside, vinified 75% in whole clusters. Expect at least 15 years of cellar ageing.

Since 1994, Michel Tardieu has been selecting and growing wines from very old vines and from the best terroirs of each appellation. Associated until 2007 with Dominique Laurent, known for the concentration of his Burgundy wines, Michel Tardieu has, because of the innate richness of the Rhone Valley wines, always sought to favour elegance and aromatic complexity in his selections.

Promoted two stars in the 2021 Revue du Vin de France guide.

A new cuvée created in 2017, a Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes from the heart of the hillside on the major terroirs of the Côte Brune. Phenomenal concentration, energetic tannin, a compact but refined wine, to wait at least 10 years before considering tasting.

Amazing story as that of Dominio de Pingus. Created in 1995 by Peter Sisseck, a Danish (!), this estate a few kilometres from Vega Sicilia has become a cult in less than 15 years.

Pingus is the great wine, made from the 4 ha of the estate, 100% tempranillo aged 70 years, biodynamic since 2000. 450 cases per year (an average yield of 10hl/ha, not counting small vintages, such as the 2002, totally downgraded in Flor de Pingus).