Chateau Castera Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2015

97 points..for only $18.95? In 2023? Questions are going to have to wait on this...we don’t have as much as we’d like – but at a score like this, and the price we have today – a million bottles wouldn’t be enough! Grab a case, quick!

Château Castera is set on the outskirts of Saint-Germain d’Esteuil, a Médoc village just north of St. Estephe. It is one of the oldest estates in the Médoc, with a history dating back to the early 1700s. A beautiful limestone chateau, surrounded by manicured gardens and vineyards, and home to one of the best deals in Bordeaux – this spectacular Cru Bourgeois!

The vines at Château Castera average about 30 years of age, though some plots are nearly 90 years old! The vineyard sits on two separate soil types – with a limestone and clay mix atop a clay plateau for the estate’s merlot (and a bit of cabernet sauvignon) plantings, followed by the fast-draining Pyrenean gravel at the lower elevations planted to cabernet sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties. Despite the estate’s location at the very top of the Left Bank, merlot is the dominant variety here – accounting for some 65% of the total plantings. This flip-flop in soil types and varietal dominance is the likely explanation for the estate’s absence in the 1855 Bordeaux classification, but now, 170+ years later, the world, the climate, the vintner expertise has all changed and this estate is thriving like never before!

After decades of malnourishment, the estate began the path to healing back in 1986 when it was purchased by a long-standing Bordeaux negociant. It has continued to increase its reputation over the past few decades and with new owners in 2008 – the estate has leapt to the top of the Cru Bourgeois class. A gradual move to sustainable farming has increased vine health and grape quality, and investments in the estate’s winemaking facility have ensured that those efforts translate into high-quality wines.

This 2015 takes advantage of an epic Bordeaux vintage to become one of the best value Bordeaux you’ll find anywhere! Aromas of roast coffee beans and baking spices beckon you into the glass, where an explosion of black fruits – blackberries, black currants, and black cherries – awaits. A vibrant and juicy core at the mid-palate silkily wanders into a spiced and smoky finish that showcases graphite, mocha powder, and toasted black peppercorns. Very luscious, extremely focused, and surprisingly nuanced for such a value-driven Bordeaux...this is drinking like a champion! But, you know, a champion that you paid far, far less to own!