There are certain fine wines that grab the headlines when it comes to Bordeaux; Latour of course, Cheval Blanc, even the fabled Petrus. But there are many (many) others that might not have the superstar status but my goodness, does it pack a punch.

Château Poujeaux is one of these wines; you might not have heard of the Haut Medoc estate but with over 8,000 estates in Bordeaux alone, that doesn’t matter. Because what Château Poujeaux lacks in column inches, it makes up for in status. Famously mistaken by Baron de Rothschild for Laffite (in 1953), Château Poujeaux proves that underrated estates can very often have the edge when it comes to Bordeaux wine.

A humdinger of a history that dates back to the 16th century (although winegrowing actually only started in the 19th century), it was sold, separated and sold again many times over. Saviours came in 1921 in the shape of the Theil family. Brothers Phillipe and Francois did much to raise the status of the estate’s fine wines, notably by planting a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (40%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (5%) on their 52-hectare estate. The estate was sold again in 2008 to the Cuvelier family (owners of Clos Fourtet, a Premier Grand Cru Classé from Saint-Emilion). Managed today by Philippe Cuvelier and his son, Matthieu, the father-son team hired winemaker extraordinaire Stéphane Derenoncourt and his team (which ironically is headed by Christophe Labenne, the grandson of the former owners).

Stéphane Derenoncourt has been able to build on the wine’s stellar reputation and take it to new levels of excellence. He has respected the generous, creamy, style and injected a touch of modernity, and this vintage after vintage. Under his careful guidance, Château Poujeaux has become a real point of reference for the appellation.

With such a long history it is unsurprising that Château Poujeaux is a tortoise, not a hare. Prices show steady rises in keeping with the rest of the Haut Medoc and Bordeaux fine wines in 2019’s (very) healthy market.