We love, LOVE, great Bordeaux. Especially after around ten years of age mellows the tannins, adding a richness and complexity that is irresistible.

BUT… Usually such a wine is expensive. Unless you know where to look!

What you’re looking at is the TOP BOTTLING of a historic Chateau. At just over TEN YEARS of age it’s drinking in its Prima… um, PRIME!

Oh, and at 50% OFF it’s LESS THAN $30?!

While the Medoc, Pessac, Pomerol, and Saint-Émilion steal most of the limelight, Bordeaux is a large region, with plenty of value to find if you know where to look.

Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux is located just across the Garonne from the city of Bordeaux. And Château Carignan is arguably its premier Château. It is part of what are affectionately referred to as “The Côtes” to those in the know – underrated sub-regions of Bordeaux with excellent terroir, just not as famous as the classified lands on the Left or Right Bank.

Neal Martin calls out the Côtes for their value and drinkability, “We now have four Côtes de Bordeaux: Blaye, Cadillac, Castillon and Francs that together represent around 10% of the area and around 1,000 growers… They are not going to cost a fortune, but as a person who has a passion for Bordeaux that goes beyond just the famous addresses, I respect the work that has gone into such wines.”

(Incidentally, if the name Cadillac looks familiar, it was French explorer from the region, Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac who founded Detroit, MI. The car company was named after him – fun fact)

Château Carignan draws its name from the village nearby (not to be confused with the grape of the same name!). It’s history dates back to Roman times. At the close of the Hundred Years War in 1492 it was awarded to a companion of Joan of Arc, who rebuilt it. It has passed through numerous hands since, but it remains a fixture of this often-overlooked region – it’s around 160 acres of vines are prime terroir.

At the helm of the winemaking is Louis Mitjavile. If you don’t know the name, you may know his family’s 100 POINT property, Terte Roteboeuf in Saint-Émilion, as well as Roc de Cambes and de l’Aurage, both also in the Côtes.

Prima is their top bottling, made in a garagiste style. 100% Merlot for the oldest vines on the property that give the wine its signature full mouthfeel, concentration, and power. Aging in all New French oak adds toastiness and subtle spices that allow the wine to build great complexity with age. Which this bottle has in spades.

And 2015? If you don’t know, it was one of the best of the teens in Brodeaux. As Wine Advocate put it on their release, “There is no question that 2015 is the best Bordeaux vintage since 2010, so let’s clear that up first… Suffice to say that unless these 2015s do close down and enter a dumb phase (and I cannot see that happening), these wines will be delicious in their youth yet deceptively long-lived. They have the balance, freshness, acidity and body to warrant cellaring, but my God, they are going to be difficult to resist year-on-year.”

Later, a decade on, Decanter reported on how the vintage was holding up, “The quality here is high, and most importantly, across the board, from top to bottom, up and down the Médoc and left and right of the Gironde. You can buy these wines blindly, with confidence, knowing that almost every producer has crafted something stylistically typical of the appellation and of an extremely high standard. Unlike 2005, for example, these wines are accessible at this age, but don’t underestimate their longevity.”

This bottle was so charming, our decision was unanimous – we knew we needed to share this wine with you. It is a mature beauty, with plenty of depth to explore and a thing or two to teach you. Opening with a barrage of warm plums, blackberry compote, tobacco, and toast, it transitions to a chocolatey richness on the palate, wrapped in a velvety robe. Complex hints of wild herbs and earth add to a long finish. Drinking at its peak now, it has the stuffing to hold on for another two to four years.

A perfectly aged seductress of a bottle. In its prime. For less than $30?!

Priced to share with friends or drink while your cellar is aging. But it won’t last.

Grab a case.

93 Points – James Suckling “Blackcurrants, chocolate and violets follow through to a full body, round and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Beautiful merlot from old vines. Needs two or three years to soften. Drink in 2020.”