David Arthur Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd

David Arthur Chardonnay with Salmon and Ahi Tuna at Vintij Grand Blvd, Sandestin

Staycationing at The Cove, our Destin, FL vacation rental home, we dined at Vintij Wine Bar and Restaurant on Grand Boulevard in (San)Destin. This is one of our favorite go-to restaurants that we try to frequent each time we’re in town. This was a near replay of our Delightful wine lunch at Vintij Grand Boulevard, featured in this blogpost last spring. 

I wrote about Vintij and their combination wine shop and restaurant in more detail in this earlier blogpost, Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin, excerpted here. 

Vin’Tij Food & Wine has been a local favorite restaurant for over 26 years and was recently voted as the “Best Restaurant in Walton County” by Emerald Coast Magazine. 

Vin’Tij is known for their creative menus preparing fresh seafood, pasta and beefsteak entrees, and, an impressive wine boutique with an artful carefully selected collection of wines across the spectrum of varietals, styles and price points.

Most notable is a collection of rare, highly allocated ultra-premium labels. 

Vin’Tij is the fullfillment of the vision based on passion for food, wine and people of founder/owner Todd Reber. Todd worked in the food and wine trade in several highly acclaimed restaurants along the Emerald Coast starting in 1990. He opened Vin’Tij Food & Wine in 1998 building upon relationships he had developed with wine makers, purveyors and sommeliers throughout the world, and his learnings from wine educational events in California, Oregon, Germany and Spain.

Vin'Tij Food & Wine won “Best Restaurant In Walton County” in the 2023 Perfect in South Walton Awards in recognition of Todd, Chef Ignacio and the entire Vin’Tij team making it ‘one of the best overall dining experiences in the area’.

Chef Ignacio Bernal was inspired by his mother to develop an interest in and pursue a career in culinary arts. He began training under Chef Todd Misner at Stinky’s Fish Camp in 2012. Under Misner’s mentorship, Bernal’s skills and cooking techniques elevated to a new level. It was at Stinky’s Fish Camp that Chef Bernal was promoted to sous chef as he continued to fine tune his skills and continued to grow under Misner’s leadership.

In 2018, Chef Ignacio joined Vin’tij to apply his vision and knowledge of wine and food pairing as Chef de Cuisine. At Vin'Tij he has developed diversified menu with unique dishes to compliment the extensive wine selection. Chef Ignacio is Vin’Tij’s partnering Chef where he has received the “BEST CHEF AWARD” in 2025 from VIP Destin Magazine!

I wrote up top of this post that this was a near replay of an earlier lunch outing at Vintij. As featured in that earlier blogpost, we chose to dine outside, and we both ordered the same entrees as before. The difference today was our wine selection. 

We had a delightful lunch sitting outside on the patio at Vin’tij Wine Bar in the tony Grand Boulevard shopping center, where you can purchase a bottle and enjoy with small bites, lunch or dinner. 

I wrote about Vin’tij and their extensive wine shop selection in this blogpost last autumn - Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin.

As before, before lunch we had the delicious Bread Basket with olive oil, Roasted Garlic, Marinated Olives, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese.

Just like our lunch last spring, Linda order the Seared Ahi Tuna with marinated cucumber Marinated Cucumber Salad, Sriracha Kewpie Mayonnaise, Chili Oil & Ponzu.

And, as before, once again I ordered the Mango Ginger Salmon with stir fried vegetable cous-cous which I enjoyed immensely last time when I wrote, “It was delicious, as good as any salmon entree I’ve ever encountered.’ 

A departure from our earlier outing was the wine. From the wine shop I selected this ultra-premium Napa Valley Chardonnay from one of our favorite producers. Our visit to David Arthur estate vineyards and winery on Pritchett Hill in 2013 was a highlight of our Napa Valley trip - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.

A highlight and targeted visit of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 was our visit to David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery. We've been collecting and enjoying David Arthur wines since the late nineties since the 1997 vintage but have been pacing our consumption as we watch this wine age and achieve its true potential. The property is situated up at the end of Long Ranch Road up atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range. The drive up offers some spectacular vineyard views and vistas of the Napa Valley below. The adjoining vineyards represent some of the premier producers of Napa Valley wines - Brand, Bryant, Colgin, Continuum, Montagna, the new Del Dotto property Villa Del Lago, and Ovid. Not (yet) designated an appellation, never-the-less, it is fast becoming one of the premiere wine growing areas of Napa Valley. 

David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate (left) planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio.

We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes. This visit offered us the opportunity to experience (and acquire) their latest vintage releases as well as their new Three Acre and Old Vines labels Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignons and a new release bottling of David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.

David Arthur, named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. Today it is operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long, all are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura running the office and daily operations.  

A point of interest and fun part of this trip was the fact that Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana farmer Ned Long were with us. Wife Linda and I were joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this trip together.

Adding to the Long legend and heritage on Pritchard Hill, adjacent to the David Arthur vineyards are Long Family Vineyards owned by Napa Valley legends Bob and Zelma Long, who gained notoriety in the 70s as chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery. Divorced from Bob, today, Zelma and husband Phillip produce wines in Germany and South Africa under their Zelphi label..

David Arthur Napa Valley Chardonnay 2019 

The grapes for this vibrant and expressive wine are grown in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley at the southern end of the valley floor. The close proximity to San Pablo Bay provides a cooler climate for which these vines thrive. Morning fog and cool off-shore breezes allow the fruit extended hang time resulting in lower sugars and higher acidity. 

Winemaker notes - “This is where we get the ineffable characteristics of complexity; balance, nuance, elegance and finesse. This wine is unfiltered, unfined, aged on the lees and has undergone full malolactic fermentation. This Burgundian-inspired wine is crisp, complex, and full-bodied.”

Winemaker Notes - “A golden straw color with tints of green offers aromas of ripe Bartlett pear and Fuji apple. There is a freshness to the fruit as well as notes of lemon rind, pineapple and white fig. The oak spice is subtle with vanilla bean crème brulee notes. The palate is broad and expansive yet a mineral acidity balances the texture while flavors of white peach, green apple skin and kiwi carry the length of the palate.”

This release was rated 93 points by Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

This had a strong resemblance to the Kosta Brown Chardonnay we enjoyed earlier this summer with its full, round, rich tasting profile, and same price-point, albeit slightly less elegant and polished. I wrote about that label that we enjoyed immensely in this blogpost at the time -  Kosta Browne Chardonnay at The Cellar Wine Bistro Lafayette.

Golden straw colored, medium to full-bodied with a rich full round texture, balanced layers of ripe-mango, peach, honeysuckle, yellow apple and pineapple fruit, with notes of toasted almonds, nutmeg, toast and hazelnut flavors, and a hint of background oak and bright acidity on a long sumptuous finish.

RM 94 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/3733974

https://www.davidarthur.com/

https://vintij.com/

Labor Day cookout smoked beef brisket and premium reds

End of summer brought family gala Labor Day cookout featuring smoked beef brisket and medley of premium red wines …

Most of the family gathered at son Ryan’s and Michelle’s for a gala end of summer Labor Day cookout. Ryan smoked a beef brisket and opened from his cellar a selection of ultra-premium red wines. 

Everyone brought a salad, side dish or dessert to accompany the brisket and grilled hot dogs. 

Ryan pulled from his cellar a diverse horizontal (multiple bottles from the same vintage) selection of 2005 vintage ultra-premium red wines from Napa Valley, central California Paso Robles and Left Bank Bordeaux. 

Phillip Melka Métisse Red Wine 2005

This is from one of our favorite producers, Phillippe Melka, a producer we know well and hold several of his labels across two decades of vintages. Phillippe was the mentor for Eric White of Galena Cellars Vineyards and Winey in Galena, IL, whom we met during our stay in the estate guest house during our getaway holiday week a couple years ago. 

Philippe grew up in Bordeaux, earned his degree in Geology at the University of Bordeaux and later his Master’s degree in Agronomy and Enology. His first wine job was at Château Haut Brion in Bordeaux. His first introduction to the Napa Valley came in 1991 as an intern with Christian Moueix, proprietor of Chateau Petrus in Bordeaux and Dominus in Napa Valley. Philippe came to Dominus to study soils – then spent a few years as a traveling winemaker and ultimately settled in the Napa Valley in 1994. The list of Napa wineries that Philippe has worked with over the years reads like a whose who list of the valley – Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate, Brand, Bryant Family, Dana Estates, Lail, Hundred Acre and Tusk Estate among many other well-regarded brands.

Philippe works with co-proprietor and co-winemaker for Melka Estates, wife, Cherie Melka. Cherie earned a degree in Microbiology at Northern Arizona University and worked for a while in pharmaceuticals as a laboratory technician. In 1989, she moved to California and took her first winery job for Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyards where she ran the lab for five years. It was here that she met Philippe who was working the vineyards. Cherie was self-taught as a enologist gaining her wine knowledge from equally impressive estates such as Ridge Vineyards, Beaulieu and Silver Oak Cellars. 

Their combined science backgrounds and extensive experience in the industry made them a perfect team in their winemaking endeavors.

The Melka brand started in 1996, when Philippe and Cherie moved back to Napa Valley from France and set out to produce their own brand, despite each working for different wineries.  After years of consulting, Philippe and Cherie opened up Melka Wines, in 1996, celebrating their first vintage of a Bordeaux styled Red Wine labeled Melka Métisse with a total production of 500 cases. 

Melka Estates started with Philippe and Cherie Melka sourcing fruit for their first two labels, two wines, one named in honor of their two children Chloe and Jeremy, and Métisse. They have since grown to four collections, CJ (a red blend very approachable in its youth sourced from premium vineyards throughout the Napa Valley), Métisse (a word that means ‘blend of cultures’ with wines from the Napa Valley), Mekerra (from the property they own in Sonoma County) and Majestique (single vineyard wines from outside of the Napa Valley). As a footnote, one quickly realizes the affinity the Melka’s have for the letter ‘M’.

The vineyards that contribute to the making of Melka wines are sourced from relationships with growers over the 20 years that they’ve been making this wine. Two primary sources of fruit for CJ are Soda Canyon, a unique area in Napa Valley near Oakville with hillside fruit, and Broken Rock has brought more fresh crushed rocks, good acidity and more massive tannins.

We’ve held this label dating back to that inaugural vintage release in 1996. 

This 2005 Melka Métisse Proprietary Red is a full-bodied, elegant Napa Valley Bordeaux blend.

It is a comprised of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot, 100% sourced from the Jumping Goat vineyard in St. Helena.

It’s was aged 19 months in French oak barrels (75% new). Production was 475 cases.

This was rated 94 points by Int'l Wine Cellar and 93 points by Wine Spectator and 91 by Wine Advocate.

Dark ruby colored, medium to full-bodied, intense, concentrated, complex, ripe blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of spice, cassis, licorice, tar, spices and bitter mocha chocolate with smooth polished tannings on a lengthy finish.

RM 93 points.  

https://www.melkaestates.com/

https://twitter.com/MelkaEstates

https://www.melkaestates.com/assets/upload/2005_Metisse_technote_1.pdf

https://www.melkaestates.com/

Chateau Montrose St Estephe Bordeaux 2005

This is a classic left bank Bordeaux from a classic vintage that should last several decades and at twenty years is just beginning to reveal its true profile and potential. In 2024, Jeb Dunnock wrote, “ (this) Montrose has another 50-75 years of overall longevity. It should cruise for another 30 years in cold cellars“ 

“It’s just now starting to show a kiss of maturity and it looks to be in the early phases of its prime drinking window. It’s also the finest bottles I’ve had, pointing to this starting to round the corner and show its full potential.” 

It is being written that the 2005 will, at maturity, surpass the two classic vintages of 1989 and 1990 - high praise signaling a top vintage with extraordinary aging potential. 

We’ve collected this classic old school St Estephe label going back to the early 1980’s, including our kids’ birthyears, 1981’ ‘82, ‘85 and 1990. We still hold several vintages dating back to the 1980’s. 

This was the final vintage managed entirely by the Charmolüe family before the estate was sold to the Bouygues in 2006. 

We drove by the historic St Estephe estate along the Gironde River just north of the town of Pauillac during our visit to the region in 2018. 

The 2005 Montrose is classic St Estephe, old school, a behemoth wine with a massive Cabernet profile, big bold dark cassis, hints of pencil cedar shavings, and earthy and leathery aromas and tobacco just starting to reveal, big ripe fruits with great tannic and acidic structure. 

This highly acclaimed release was rated 99 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 98 points by Jane Anson of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and The Wine Independent, and 96 points by Decanter, James Suckling and Neal Martin for Vinous. 

This is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% to 3.5% Cabernet Franc, and 0.5% to 1% Petit Verdot. It was aged in 60% new oak. The winemaker was Jean-Bernard Delma who oversaw the elevage of this wine. 

Jeb Dunnuck wrote in 2024, “It’s just now starting to show a kiss of maturity and it looks to be in the early phases of its prime drinking window. It’s also the finest bottles I’ve had, pointing to this starting to round the corner and show its full potential.” 

Neal Martin of Vinous wrote, “It's no shy retiring flower by a long stretch—if you seek a more bombastic Montrose then this is where to come. "

Winemaker Notes - “2005 impresses by its exceptional power, the amazing pure fruit, and the extraordinary engaging elegance without having the overwhelming charm of the 2003. Stylistically, very classical and very Bordeaux-like, without austerity. Dense purple color, almost black.The nose is still closed: black fruits, spices, chocolate. Complex palate, long, rich, powerful, cherry, cocoa, licorice, tobacco brown, prune. This is a very big wine, full and very structured, with nice length, the tannins are very robust, with great aging potential.”

As with many super highly rated wines, this shows a characteristic profile revealing a flawless lack of faults, with a terrific sense of freshness, balance, and remarkable purity and precision. 

Dark garnet, ruby/plum-hued, full-bodied, intense, dense, concentrated, complex, yet balanced, still a bit tight and closed, layered dark blackcurrant and red fruits, spices, cloves, chocolate loamy soil, leather, graphite and hints of black truffles, floral and ash, turning to refined, silky polished tannins, on a long elegant finish. 

Be patient, give this time, and hopefully if you’re lucky and able, taste periodically over an extended period to see how it matures, opens to reveal itself  

RM 95 points.

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/222327 

http://www.chateau-montrose.com/ 

More to come …. 

Saxum Broken Stones Red Wine 2005

This limited release highly allocated label is a blend of 74% Syrah, 24% Grenache, and the rest Mourvèdre, what is commonly called a “GSM” in Australia and other parts where this southern Rhone Valley blend is common.  

This is produced by Heather and Justin Smith whose family owns the James Berry Vineyard, one of the rare sites in Paso Robles on limestone. They produce ultra-premium wines under the Saxum Vineyards label.

Saxum Vineyards is located in the Paso Robles AVA of Central California was founded in the early 2000s by Justin Smith, a young winemaker who had previously been part-owner of Linne Calodo.

Saxum gained notoriety in late 2010 when its 2007 James Berry Vineyards wine was named the #1 Wine of 2010 by Wine Spectator. The wine is a Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. 

Saxxum are part of the community of producers in Central California Coast that have become known as the “Rhone Rangers,” because they specialize in Rhone Valley-style blends. 

The intense sunshine and relatively steep and rocky terrain of the Paso Robles AVA, which was officially recognized in 1983, is similar to the terrain of the Rhone Valley. 

The Paso Robles AVA is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it is considered one of the West Coast’s most exciting winemaking regions. Located in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles, the town and its surrounding area, was traditionally a farming and ranching region. With its hot, sometimes searingly dry and sunny weather, it is especially good country for growing warm climate grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. 

So many Paso Robles wineries have been successful with blending these grapes into Rhone Valley-style wines, it is known as the Rhone zone of California. 

There are 32,000 vineyard acres in the Paso Robles AVA that was created in 1983. In late 2014 the AVA was divided into 11 smaller sub-appellations, so, starting with the 2015 vintages, Paso Robles wines are label with more specificity, which will now also list sub-appellations. 

Today there are more than 200 wineries.

Smith and his wife Heather owns the winery with the James Berry Vineyard,  the Smith family’s estate vineyard, located 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean with an average elevation of 1200 feet. It consists of a series of slopes with shallow clay loam topsoil covering an ancient seabed, complete with fossilized shells and sharks teeth.

Smith planted several othertop vineyards in Paso Robles while mentoring a number of his colleagues. 

Heather and Justin produce under the label Saxum Vineyards and focus on producing Grenache, Syrah, and Mataro based blends from the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles.

Their vineyards have the unique terroir of rocky calcareous soils, steep hillsides, sunny days, and cooling ocean breezes. They produce wines keeping yields low, picking the fruit at the peak of ripeness, and using a minimalist approach in the cellar. 

The vine’s roots penetrate deep through the fissures in the calcareous soil so that irrigation is rarely needed. Production is kept around 8000 cases a year divided between twelve different cuvees, Broken Stones, James Berry Vineyard, Hexe, Bone Rock, Rocket Block, Somnus, Cayucos Ridge Vineyard, G2 Vineyard, Paderewski Vineyard, Heart Stone Vineyard, 4hearts Vineyard, and James Berry Vineyard White.

The limited release Broken Stones bottling is sourced from all of the vineyards in the Saxum lineup. The Broken Stones cuvee is Syrah based, with a large portion of Petite Sirah and Grenache and a splash of Mataro. It is aged for 18-20 months in mainly new, French barriques. 

This label was rated 94 points by Wine Advocate and 91 points by Vinous. 

Winemaker notes - It is full-bodied, rich, and intense, but also reveals great purity, focus and complexity. The Broken Stones is a multi-vineyard blend, utilizing all the vineyards that we source from. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.”

It boasts dark garnet colored, full-bodied, opulent wine with notes of licorice, forest floor, pepper, spice box, and loads of black and red fruits that saturate the palate with crisp acidity, heady alcohol, and loads of flavor, depth, and richness.

https://go.cellartracker.com/note/6136981

https://www.saxumvineyards.com/

Ryan then pulled from the cellar one of my favorite wines that is drinking optimally right now….

Odette Napa Valley Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

This wine was a highlight of another recent dinner as well as one of our Pour Boy’s wine group dinners last year. I wrote about that dinner and tasting and this producer label in these blogposts - OTBN 2025 in Charleston - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2025/02/otbn-2025-in-charleston.html, and Christmas revelry includes ultra-premium wine flight - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2024/12/christmas-revelry-includes-ultra.html, excerpted here.

As noted in that post, this is from the Odette 45-acre estate vineyards in the heart of the Stag’s Leap District appellation nestled against the foothills on the east side of Silverado Trail just north of Napa town. 

It’s too bad this label is part of the Plumpjack Group with their unfortunate affiliation with Gavin Newsom. Never-the-less, despite the distractions and mis-directions, they produce some fabulous wines. 

This release was crafted by Odette winemaker Andrew Haugen.

A native from Southern California, he studied biology at Cal Poly in the Central California wine region around San Luis Obispo. There, he also took the available wine classes. Pursing his interest in wine, he gained experience at Stonestreet in Sonoma County for his inaugural 2012 harvest, then at Church Road Winery in New Zealand, Howard Park in Australia, and Gran Moraine in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, before joining Odette Estate Winery in 2015.

From that time he progressed from cellar master to enologist to assistant winemaker and eventually head winemaker for the Odette and their Adaptation labels. He works closely with long-time Vineyard Manager Oscar Renteria at Oso Vineyard, and a 129-acre site located in Pope Valley.

Odette Stag’s Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

This is part of the Plumpjack group portfolio of wineries. We used to love their wines. I wrote about Plumpjack and their unfortunate demise into woke progressive politics in this recent blogpost - Plumpjack Estate Napa Valley Cabernet for meatloaf dinner, and in previous posts, Plumpjack Founders Reserve Cabernet, and Spectacular dining experience at Entourage Restaurant Downers Grove. in more detail in this recent blogpost. 

Odette Estate Winery was established in 2012, sitting on 45 acres straddling the Silverado Trail in the Stag’s Leap District in southeast Napa Valley. It was founded with a guiding philosophy of environmental responsibility and a commitment to preserving their special spot in the Stags Leap District for generations to come.

The winemaker for Odette is Andrew Haugen who gained interest in wine with the movie Sideways during his time at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He set out to deepen his knowledge, with his fascination with relationship between ‘site and soul’ in wines. Andrew joined the Plumpjack/Odette team in 2015 as Cellar Master, honing his skills and ascending to Enologist, Assistant Winemaker, and now Head Winemaker for Odette and also sister winery estate, Adaptation.

This release is actually a blend of Bordeaux varietals- 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. 

Bring a classic traditional Left Bank Bordeaux Blend explains why this wine was wider and more complex and not as deep, so to speak, when compared to the other Napa Cabs. This likely showed best when consumed with the beef tenderloin. 

This release was awarded 97 points by Jeb Dunnuck. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, round, complex, concentrated ripe blackberry, black currant and black raspberry fruits accented by crème de cassis, licorice with notes clove spice and anise with bright acidity and smooth polished fine grained tannins on the long persistent finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.odetteestate.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4137711

Dueling reds, Left Bank vs Right Bank Bordeaux

Dueling reds, Left Bank vs Right Bank Bordeaux, mini-horizontal comparison with grilled beefsteaks

With me bach’ing it for the weekend, and d-in-law and g-daughter at special event, son Ryan invited me over to dinner for grilled eye of the ribeye beefsteaks. He was opening a 2009 Left Bank Bordeaux so I took a Right Bank label from the same vintage for a mini-horizontal comparison tasting.

Ryan pulled from his cellar this ultra-premium Pauillac, one of my favorite labels. We toured the ground of the Pichon Lalande and Pichon Baron estates during our Bordeaux Wine Experience in 2019.

Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande 2009 

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was founded in 1689 by Pierre de Mazure de Rauzan and gained its iconic family name through marriage in 1694. His daughter Thérèse received the land as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville, giving the estate its foundational name.

Pierre de Rauzan assembled the initial vineyard plots in Pauillac from 1689–1694. 

18th Century: The estate experienced a strong tradition of female management, run by influential women including Thérèse de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus, and Marie Branda de Terrefort. Baron Joseph (1760–1850): Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville managed the estate for roughly 70 years after taking over at age 19.

On the eve of his death in 1850, Baron Joseph split the property among his five children. The two sons received two-fifths (becoming Château Pichon Baron or Pichon Longueville Baron), while the three daughters received three-fifths. Virginie de Pichon Longueville, Countess de Lalande, and her two sisters inherited three-fifths of the vineyard. Joseph's daughter Virginie married the Comte de Lalande, taking control of her share, building the château, and naming the estate Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

1855 Classification: Both resulting properties earned the status of Second Growth (Deuxième Cru Classé) in the historic 1855 Bordeaux Classification. To this day, Pichon Lalande is considered one of the "Super Second" Growths and enjoys great prestige with its international reputation.

In 1925, with no family heirs remaining, the Miailhe family (Edouard and Louis) purchased the estate. 

In 1978, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, daughter of Edouard Miailhe, in turn inherited the property and devoted herself entirely to continuing the tradition and family legacy. She managed the property expanding the vineyards from 40 to 89 hectares and turned Pichon Lalande into a global benchmark with legendary vintages like the 1982.

In 2006/2007, the estate was sold to the Rouzaud family, owners of Champagne Louis Roederer, who continue to run the property with a focus on sustainable and biodynamic farming.

To this day, the two Pichon estates sit immediately across the road from each other on the D2, Rte de Château, as you leave St Julien and enter the Pauillac appellation, on the south outskirts of the village of Pauillac. They sit adjacent to the notably First Growth Chateau Latour on the Pauillac side, and Chateau Leoville Las Cases, on the southern, St Julien side of the appellation boundary. 

Pichon Baron

D2 Route, St Julien, Pauillac in distance.

Pichon Lalande Chateau.

Pichon Lalande modern winery. 

We toured the estate vineyards during our visit to the region in 2019. 

The Pichon Lalande estate is planted to a higher percentage of Merlot than average in Pauillac with a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, without any Cabernet Franc which it typical in the region. 

The 2009 vintage release of this label was awarded  97 points by The Wine Palate, 96 points by James Suckling, 95 points by Jeb Dunnuck, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast which also gave gave it s ‘Cellar Selection’ designation, and 94 points by Vinous.

Winemaker's Tasting Note: “This beautiful vintage of Pichon Lalande is loaded with floral, cassis, boysenberry, earth, olive and tobacco notes. With a high percentage of CS, blended with 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, this powerful, graceful, sensuous, rich, fresh Bordeaux Wine is pure, refined and offers silky, velvet textures.” 

James Suckling wrote this “Reminds me of the legendary 1982.”

In 2022, Jeb Dunnuck wrote this release “has a good 20-25 years of cellaring potential left”. Wine Advocate “It is one of the great Pichon Lalandes of the last twenty years.”

This was deep garnet colored with deep purple-hue, medium to full-bodied, firm, structured, tight and closed, concentrated opulent and rich unctuos blackberry and black currants fruits with lead pencil graphite, cassis, tobacco, truffle, herbs and spice box notes with firm fine tannins on the firm full long finish. This was tightly wound and a bit closed, but try this again in five years, then ten, and beyond. 

RM 93 points, 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/873674

I took from our cellar this Right Bank St Emilion Grand Cru Classe label from the same vintage for a mini-horizontal (multiple bottles from the same vintage) comparison tasting. 

Château l'Arrosee St Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2009

This is from Ch. l’Arrosée, that upon this release was a 23 acre vineyard in Saint-Emilion, situated next to Ch. Bélair-Monange and Ch. Angélus. The vineyards sit on a limestone hillock in the south-western end of the Saint-Emilion plateau, a prolongation of the Ausone slope, with the soil higher up on the plateau mainly clay and limestone, and the portion at the foot of the hillside more sandy..

Prior to 1956, Ch. l’Arrosée was bottled and labelled by the local co-operative. Following the sale of the estate to the Caille family in 2002, the reputation of the wine grew rapidly after they made serious investments in the vineyard.

In 2011, the fourth generation of the Dillon family, Domaine Clarence Dillon, owners of famous first growth Ch. Haut-Brion and Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, Prince Robert de Luxemburg, branched out beyond the Graves region to buy Ch. Tertre Daugay in Saint-Emilion.  

In 2013, he acquired Château L'Arrosée, so the last vintage produced was 2012, when the property was sold to Domaine Clarence Dillon, and the label was subsequently merged with Ch. Tertre Daugay to create Ch. Quintus.

One notable UK wine merchant wrote, because of integration of Château L'Arrosée into Château Quintus,   older vintages like 2009 are collector items found mainly through fine wine merchants and secondary auction markets, with prices generally ranging from $120 to over $700 per bottle depending on the retailer and market availability.

In 2021, Domaine Clarence Dillon bought Ch. Grand Pontet, another 35 acres of top Saint-Emilion terroir to further expand the Quintus estate. With the viticulture and winemaking at Quintus all under the control of the talented Haut-Brion team, Quintus quickly gained its own following of collectors. 

Alongside the Grand Vin, a second wine Le Dragon de Quintus (first produced in 2011) and a third wine Saint-Emilion de Quintus (first produced in 2014) are made.  

This release was rated 92 points by James Suckling, and 91 points by Robert M. Parker, Jr. Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator. 

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate wrote, “This outstanding l'Arrosee is consistent with the Burgundian style that this terroir routinely produces.”

This was more approachable and pleasant than the tightly wound Pichon which will likely soften and integrate with further aging for another decade or more.  

Bright ruby colored, full bodied, rich, round soft, smooth and polished ripe blackberry, raspberry and black cherry fruits with notes of  kirsch, cassis and spice box with soft and silky polished tannins on a pleasant lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?901211

Domaine L’Eglise Pomerol with grilled beefsteak

Domaine L’Eglise Pomerol with grilled beefsteak

Home alone for the evening, I grilled a petit filet of beef for dinner, served with Mac-n-cheese and balsamic hot-house tomato’s. To pair with the dinner, I pulled from the cellar an aged Right Bank Bordeaux. 

With wife Linda gone, I pulled an aged bottle beyond the years she would enjoy drinking, yet still in its approachable (albeit near the end) drinking window - a 1989 vintage Bordeaux. 

The 1989 vintage in Pomerol is widely considered a legendary, stellar year that produced some of the greatest and most opulent Merlot-based wines of the 20th century. As I have written often, ‘all boats rise with the tide”, such that in stellar vintage years, even the lesser known labels are excellent and can provide great values as the quality nears that of the premier producers. 

As an appellation, perhaps Pomerol was the most successful region for quality 1989 Bordeaux wine, partly due to the fact that the Merlot varietal faired extremely well for the vintage. The 1989 release of great First Growth from Pomerol, Chateau Haut Brion is considered one of the great wines of the century, along side the historic 1961, 1959 and perhaps even 1945 Haut Brion.

The 1989 growing season was warm, early-maturing year that resulted in abundant yields and very healthy, sugar-rich grapes. Many of the 1989 labels are still drinking well and top producers will can be held perhaps another decade, although most labels should be monitored closely and consumed soon. 

Domaine L’Eglise Pomerol Bordeaux 1989

At thirty-six years, the foil and label were still in pristine condition, and most importantly, the fill level was bottom neck, acceptable for such an age, and the cork was still in good condition.

This is the last bottle of several collected years ago. The previous bottle was consumed and posted in this earlier blogpost - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2025/05/aged-vintage-wines-for-family-birthday.html.

Château du Domaine de l'Eglise Pomerol 1989

Château du Domaine de l'Eglise is a renowned producer of Right Bank Bordeaux wine, located in the commune of Pomerol, in the shadow of the church tower, and less than two kilometres, within walking distance, of notable famous neighbor producers Château Clinet (300m) and Château Petrus (900m), Chateau LEvangile and Chateau LEglise Clinet. 

The Pomerol AOC (Appellation Originale Controllee) is located in the Libourne region on the Right Bank of the Dordogne River, just upstream from its confluence with the Isle. The town of Libourne, has a port that was used for exporting wines as far back as 1269. 

In the 1900s, winegrowers got together and made joint purchases. Working together, they set up a winegrowers’ and farmers’ union to improve their wine and protect the Pomerol appellation. The AOC area was defined in 1928, recognised in 1936 and revised in 2011.

Today, the Pomerol AOC is renowned for its great wines such as Pétrus, Trotanoy, Clinet, Petit Village and Gazin. The Pomerol appellation comprises nearly 2000 acres with 140 producers with an average of 15 acres, producing 31,000 hectolitres of red wine a year.

Domaine de l’Eglise is one of several Pomerol producers using L’Eglise as part of their name. Domaine de l’Eglise is thought to be the oldest vineyard in the entire Pomerol appellation. It is thought that the estate was founded in the 16th century. There are records dating the estate back to 1589. 

The vineyard is located not far from several famous neighbors including Chateau LEvangile, Chateau Clinet, and Chateau LEglise Clinet. While they have parcels in various locations on the plateau, their best parcels are planted close to the village church, not far from their old, stone chateau.

The origins of the Château du Domaine de l’Église vineyard can be traced back to 1589, at the beginning of the reign of the Good King Henri (Henri IV). The estate was seized by authorities during the French Revolution and in 1793 it was sold to the Bertin family though a national property sale.

In 1893, the Bertin family produced ten barrels of wine, rising to twenty barrels by 1949. Simon Landard, Laure Bertin’s nephew, ran the estate a few years later. The estate was acquired in 1973 by Émile Castéja, 

Château du Domaine de l’Eglise was owned by Philippe Castéja and his sister, Chantal Castéja Prében-Hansen. Philippe ran the estate and improved the quality of the wine over the years. The wine from Château du Domaine de l’Eglise is considered a Grand Vin. Today the estate is run by the firm of Borie-Manoux.

The vineyards of Domaine de l’Eglise were completely replanted following a devastating frost in 1956. At that time, the estate made a management and sales agreement with Borie Manou.

In 1972, the Landard family, who had owned the vineyard since 1793, sold Domaine de l’Eglise to the well-known Castéja family, owners of Batailley and Trotte-Vieille. Borie Manou and Philippe Castéja were placed in charge of managing the Pomerol estate. 

Starting with the 2009 vintage, the quality of wine being produced at Domaine de l’Eglise took a turn for better.

The 17 acre Pomerol vineyard of Domaine de l’Eglise is planted to 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 

On average, the vines are an impressive 40 years of age at Domaine de l’Eglise Pomerol. The vineyard is situated on a plateau with classic Pomerol terroir, characterized by gravelly soil and clay subsoil, which imparts a distinct minerality to the wine

The wine is typically aged in an average of 40% new, French oak barrels for between 16 and 18 months, depending on the character and style of the vintage, before bottling. 

On average, the annual production hovers close to 2,500 cases of Pomerol wine per vintage at Domaine de l’Eglise. 

At thirty six years, this wine was holding up remarkably well and still very much in its drinking window, but certainly not likely to improve with any further aging, and best to be consumed in the next couple years. The label and foil and most importantly the fill level was top of neck and the cork was still intact despite being partly saturated, it was holding its integrity. It was carefully extracted using an ‘Ahso’ two pronged cork puller (shown). It likely would have collapsed in the bottle if pressed by a traditional cork screw. I always use this method, especially with older wines (except for synthetic corks).  

This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Advocate in 1993. 

This was even better the following day, being more balanced and settled, after decades of aging in the cellar.

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium to full bodied, deep rich round ripe balanced blackberry, cherry and plum fruits with herbs and vibrant spice notes with soft fine tannins on a long sensuous finish. 

RM 90 points, better, 91 points the following day. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?186048

https://www.domainedeleglise.com/en/

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/186048