WIA award train keeps rolling! Today we have a stunning second visit from this year’s most popular Bordeaux AND sweet surprises in the store. That’s right - SWEET SUNDAY! Along with some fabulous golden elixirs such as vintage Sauternes, comes the best price you’ll ever find on a …drumroll… Cheval Blanc! If you’re new around here, WIA stands for Wine Intrigue Awards, when we revisit and celebrate our best, most popular, most re-requested wines of the year. One last chance to grab your favorites, and more!

It really don’t matter if you’re a Francophile, a Francophobe, or roam anywhere in between. There is NO DENYING that the world owes the notion of “vins fins” or fine wines to them. And today’s Margaux is a shining example why. The second wine from Boyd-Cantenac, and it’s a beauty - especially for half off! Vive la France!

This is the ultimate Bordeaux for the masses. A Margaux 3rd Growth, with accolades, from a phenomenal vintage. At the original $70 it is an impressive bargain, sharing the turf with the likes of Châteaux Margaux, Palmer, and Rauzan-Ségla. Thanks to our HALF OFF deal, at $35 it’s arguably the best money you can spend in Margaux.

There’s Bordeaux, then there’s Margaux. It’s not just our favorite appellation, but its reputation is BIG. To our palates, a quintessential Margaux sits somewhere between an austere Pauillac’s aristocracy and the irresistible approachability of a bodacious Pomerol. It really is the best of both worlds, so when we found an example of this striking balance in a wine that won’t hurt the pocketbook, we were thrilled to jump on as much as was there. Perfect provenance, direct from the

A distinct shade of claret here greets the eye, right in that sweet spot where bright ruby meets garnet. Loads of ripe plum, currants, and earth are woven together on the nose in a full, gentle style that truly speaks for this great appellation. Broad, rich, and concentrated with cedar and fruit as the flavors spread out on the full-bodied palate, with lots of ripe fruit, all leading to a gorgeous, long, caressing, silky finish. In pursuit of pairings, we suggest you start with a classic Bordelaise sauce and work backward with your favorite proteins to concoct the ultimate special weekday feast.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate points out that “This property merits far more attention than it normally receives. While the production at Boyd-Cantenac does not match that of Margaux’s larger estates, this estate consistently over-achieves.” And while they did not review the Jacques Boyd, the raves on the 2015 harvest in Margaux were big: *“in 2015 I can finally claim that the appellation of Margaux produced some of the finest wines of the Left Bank and of Bordeaux as a whole.

Adding that “we are not just talking about the predictable names such as Château Margaux, Rauzan-Ségla or Palmer, which all produced brilliant wines. What gives me so much optimism is that quality is dispersed throughout the hierarchy, so that there is finally a sense of ‘team effort,’ properties pulling up their socks, investing in the vineyards, overhauling wineries, addressing past shortcomings and delivering wines that in 2015 are bound to give enormous pleasure to wine lovers.”

Do you hear that you “wine lovers” you? Dive right in!

90 Points – Wine Enthusiast

“The second wine of Château Boyd-Cantenac, this comes from the southern part of the Margaux vineyards. Wood aged and still showing tannins, the wine has richness and concentrated black fruits. It’s elegant, with a finely formed aftertaste. Drink the wine now.”