Current Events
Sharing amazing experiences with like minded oenophiles.
Recent Events ... highlights Commanderie activities from across the United States over the last twelve months.
Building and expanding our collective knowledge and
understanding of Bordeaux wines in convivial environments.
First Place Château d'Aiguilhe
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Very rich and sumptuous on the nose. Round and well balanced. Very fine tannins. Very successful. Hint of some floral soap?! But really pretty impressive.
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Acquired by Stephan von Neipperg in late 1998, Château d’Aiguilhe is one of the finest and most beautiful vineyards in the Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux appellation. Located back from the river, the château's dignified ruins bear witness to a long and turbulent history.
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Today, the estate covers 140 hectares, including 90 planted with vines. The vines grow exclusively on the plateau, where they benefit from south-facing sun exposure and excellent natural drainage.
A thin layer of rather meager clay-limestone and clay-silt topsoil overlays a limestone substratum that ensures remarkable water regulation. Combined with the average age of the vines, this terroir is ideal for producing quality wine.
Second Place Château Macquin
This classic Right Bank Bordeaux bottling hails from Saint-Georges Saint-Emilion. Comprised of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine opens with earthy cedar notes and moves into a firm and beautifully structured palate that is full of ripe cassis and blackberry fruit. Château Macquin dates back to 1885.
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Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion is the smallest of the "satellite" titles of the larger Saint Emilion appellation in the Libournais sub-region of Bordeaux on the right (northern) bank of the Dordogne river. As with its neighbors, it produces red wines only, based heavily on the merlot grape variety.
Third Place Château Fombrauge
Medium garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Fombrauge sings of lively kirsch, baked black cherries and warm plums notes plus touches of potpourri, cigar box and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with decadent red and black fruit preserves, structured by velvety tannins and finishing with fantastic length.
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Château Fombrauge is the largest Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion with a vineyard stretching on 58.60 hectares (143 ac.). It is its exceptional surface area that gives the soil a unique character... A typicity in diversity. Diversity of soils but also multiple exposures donate Château Fombrauge’s wine complexity and identity.
To express the richness of this soil, Bernard Magrez combines in Château Fombrauge ancestral knowledge and viticulture of precision. The result? An exquisite wine, a Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion.
