This year we’re all about empowerment and growth. LEVEL UP with us, Operatives!

Get all the prestige and power of a top-shelf Saint-Émilion Grand Cru without going deep into the triple digits.

With triple the 96-97+ points this outpaced many similarly high-scoring juggernauts from the same vintage, including:

• Le Dôme - $299
• Figeac - $315
• Angelus - $425
• Pavie - $449
• Cheval Blanc - $999

This little-known contender brings similar power and purity to the table for… can this be?!

Under $90.

We shouldn’t be surprised.

Les Astéries comes from winemaking force Jonathan Maltus. The man has a LONG list of 95-100-point wines. He emerged as a leading visionary from the 1990s “garagiste” period in Saint-Émilion, where he pushed the limits and broke all the traditional rules to set new expectations for quality and price. He does it all, most notably across places like Le Dôme right next door. You might also recognize him from the extremely popular World’s End deals we’ve offered.

After his success with Le Dôme, he launched a new single-vineyard wine - Les Astéries - and it quickly became another champion of his portfolio.

This vintage brings together 83% Merlot with 17% Cab Franc. Intense and concentrated, it delivers a juicy core of black fruits with ripe blackberry and smoked plums, complemented by roasted coffee beans, vanilla bean, exotic woods, and toasty herbs.

Vinous puts it poetically, “many readers will be drawn to the micro-cuvées, Le Carré, Le Dôme and Les Astéries in particular, and right so… One of the things I like most about it is the interplay of fruit richness and tension that underpins the wine. Jonathan Maltus’ hedonistic style comes through loud and clear and yet the Astéries remains wonderfully focused. It is one of the highlights in this range… For fans of minerally Right Bank wines, the nose alone is reason enough to buy this wine by the case.”

Now THAT is sound advice, while it lasts with HALF OFF!

97+ Points – Jeb Dunnuck

“Another remarkable wine from Jonathan Maltus, the 2016 Les Astéries is a blend of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc that’s from very old vines and pure limestone soils. Blackberries, black raspberries, licorice, crushed rocks, and graphite notes all emerge from this incredibly layered, balanced, lengthy beauty that has full-bodied richness and power, yet the balance and elegance of a ballerina. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it will keep for two decades. Drink 2023-2043.”

97 Points – Wine Enthusiast

“This is a beautifully balanced wine. Tannins and a mineral texture are contrasted by acidity as well as plump blackberry and black plum fruits. This mineral-driven wine is densely fruited while also impressively structured. A single-vineyard wine from the plateau of Saint-Émilion, it offers palpable concentration that’s dark and full of black plum flavor. It’s elegant, fresh and juicy. It is textured and structured, with considerable aging potential. Drink from 2024.”

96+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“The 2016 Les Astéries is composed of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, aged in 80% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it charges forth with exuberant wild blueberries, raspberry preserves and baked plums scents with an undercurrent of espresso, chargrill, wood smoke and licorice. Full-bodied, firm and solidly constructed, it has a taut, grainy texture and bags of muscular black fruit, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Drink 2020-2050.”