When your vino comes under the Margaux fine wine umbrella and borders Château Margaux, chances are you’re in for a good thing. And the excellent quality (not to mention price) of Château La Gurgue ticks all the boxes. Consistent high scorer with Suckling, Robinson, Galloni and the like? Oui. Biodynamic farming? Oui. Celebrity oenologist, owner and neighbours? Oui, oui, and oui.

The Château’s winemaking history is inextricably linked with its better known voisin, Château Margaux. In 1871 the then owner Mr. Peixotto became the mayor of Margaux, which allowed him to snap up the neighbouring plots. A further owner (and coincidently, mayor) Camille Lenoir added the coveted neighbouring Margaux plots bringing the domaine’s size to 10 hectares. The addition of these final parcels elevated Château Lenoir - as it was then known - to stardom status. It returned to its original name - La Gurgue - shortly after. Investors should note that while La Gurgue might not have a Grand Crus classé status and is often often overlooked , its relatively small production makes it extremely attractive to connoisseurs with demand often outstripping supply.

It’s no wonder that the Cru Bourgeois is so well received on the tasting circuit. A basic Bordeaux blend (varying combinations of up to 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot), the wine is a noted award winner with an excellent average score of 88/100 in recent years. This could be something to do with the careful management of Claire Villars-Lurton, who has run the domaine since 1993. Claire is of course granddaughter of Jacques Merlaut and daughter of Bernadette Villars, a family heritage which is as close to fine winemaking royalty as it gets. The family also owns Château Durfort Vivens, a 2ème Grand Crus classé, Château Ferrière, a 3ème Grand Crus classé and Château Haut-Bages Libéral, a 5ème Grand Cru classé. Claire and her husband Gonzague aslo own Acaibo, a Sonoma County wine and Château Domeyne, in Saint-Estephe.

To say that Château La Gurgue has enjoyed a run of remarkable years would be an understatement. With the exceptional weather conditions of 2015, Château La Gurgue enjoyed a bumper year. The gravel and limestone soil provided superb draining for the wet summer, while the densely packed vines (10,000 plants per hectare) gave the fruit ample shade from the sun. This was followed by the superb 2016 which, despite complicated meteorological challenges (an unusually warm winter followed by frost in spring), still offers superb value for money, particularly for a fine wine of this calibre. Both vintages age for around 20 years.