Chateau La Garde 2018
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This vintage, like 2016 or 2010, once again showcases the outstanding terroir that we have at La Garde. The diversity of soils, particularly the spectacular deep gravel slope named “le plateau”, is famous among our pairs, and our pride for 29 years. The wines are intensely colored, the tannins both rich and sweet. It’s the gem to discover in this appellation.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This shows a juicy, open-knit mix of sweet bay, savory, red currant and cherry reduction aromas and flavors, with a tarry streak holding down the back end. A little cellaring will tame its gutsy side. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2030.
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James Suckling
Very beautiful aromas of blackberries and crushed stones with hints of dried flowers. It’s full-bodied with soft, creamy tannins that are softly knit. Round, creamy finish. Drink after 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck
An outstanding Graves, the 2018 Château La Garde reveals a dense purple hue as well as impressive blueberry and black cherry fruits intermixed with tobacco, cedary spice, and dried herbs. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, with notable purity as well as building, ripe tannins, it's going to benefit from just a couple of years in the cellar and drink nicely for 10-12 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Still young this wine has good potential. Richly textured and balanced lemon and tropical fruits are lifted by subtle wood aging. It is a ripe wine, ready for further aging. Drink from 2023. Thiénot USA.
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Decanter
The La Garde vineyard has one north-facing gravel slope and one south-facing clay-limestone slope, giving the estate a good balance of ripening dates in most vintages. In another sign of how unusual 2018 was, both Cabernet and Merlot on these different slopes ripened at the same time, so they were co-fermented in one tank. Unusual for sure, but the result is excellent. They do such a good job here of making accessible but polished and elegant Pessacs. This is smooth, ripe and welcoming, with a seductive expansion through the mid-palate that emphasises the creamy texture of the fruits. Definitely as good as the 2016, maybe better.
Barrel Sample
Other Vintages
2022-
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
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Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
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Enthusiast - Vinous
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
The origins of the Chateau date back to the 18th century, when Domaine de “Lagarde” already featured on the “carte de Cassini”, the first general map of France drawn by the Cassini family in 1756. The picturesque Charterhouse, built in 1732, was at that time surrounded by valleys and woods. The “Bourdieu de Lagarde” was then passed down through the Blanchard family, until its purchase in 1877 by the Lacoste family, who were negociants in Bordeaux. Vines were thus cultivated on this magnificent stony terroir and the winery was built in 1881. After the First World War, Louis Eschenauer, a well-known negociant on the Place de Bordeaux at the “Chartrons”, was looking for good quality vines in the Bordeaux area. He became interested in the vineyards around the summit of Domaine de La Garde, which he subsequently bought in 1920, and in so doing became the leading proponent of the wines produced in the Martillac area, where he also owned Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. Sometimes referred to as Domaine de La Garde, Clos de La Garde, then Chateau La Garde, even at this time a crest featured on the estate’s wine labels inspired by weapons thought to be from the region of Aquitaine during the 100 years’ war, displaying the leopard with a lion’s head.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.