Description
Château Chantecler, Pauillac Grand Vin
If you’ve ever wondered what a secret paradise looks like for premium Bordeaux collectors, all signs would surely point to Château Chantecler. But it’s not that simple, nor is it a destination that’s clearly marked: Among the last independent growers of legendary Pauillac, this veritable micro-château crafts a single Grand Vin rarity of the highest caliber—and does so all while hiding in plain sight of First Growths Mouton and Lafite.
As the Rothschild titans churned out tens of thousands of cases, commanded Pauillac’s highest prices ($800-$1,000), and hypnotized status-chasers with 99- and 100-point scores in the 2019 vintage, next-door neighbor Château Chantecler was covertly producing 20x less wine and charging 7-9x less for it. And I mean “next-door neighbor” quite literally: Dead center of Pauillac’s extortionate vine real estate sits a postage-stamp parcel surrounded by the iconic trinity of Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, and Pontet-Canet. This treasure trove is the sole source of today’s singular Grand Vin, and there’d surely be a fierce bidding war if it were for sale. For now, it remains safe, so we can all keep basking in Chantecler’s unfeigned, muscular, über-polished Pauillac until that inevitable day arrives. This has become our best-selling Bordeaux for a reason, so enjoy up to 12 bottles if you want to thoroughly stock your cellar for years/decades to come. NOTE: This parcel will be arriving at our warehouse in two weeks.
You may have seen this property receiving top honors in Decanter’s magazine piece, “The Last Little Guys of Pauillac,” but Chantecler is a fascinating story that is worth exploring further. Yannick Mirande grew up in wine and his family has owned and worked vineyards in Pauillac for many generations. Over the years, the Mirandes assembled a respectable 12-hectare collection of vineyards and were able to earn a living selling their harvest to prestigious neighbors like Mouton and Lafite. In the aftermath of the 2000 “vintage of the century” hysteria, demand for Pauillac fruit skyrocketed and real estate values quickly followed suit. Yannick’s aunt was unable to resist the temptation of selling the majority of the Mirandes’ vines to Mouton Rothschild in 2004. Fortunately, Yannick salvaged the family’s crown jewel: a one-hectare hillside parcel in the Pauillac lieu-dit “Plateau de Padarnac,” for himself. Over the next six years, he continued farming and improving his small vineyard, selling fruit to various Cru Classé neighbors, and honing his skills in the cellar.
Having made great strides as a winemaker and vigneron, Yannick finally released his first vintage of Château Chantecler in 2010, made from that one single hectare. Even today, he still only bottles a few hundred cases of this one cuvée, composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. To put that in context, consider that neighboring Mouton, Lafite, and Pontet-Canet own over 250 hectares of vines in Pauillac and produce a combined 60,000+ cases each year!
Yannick farms his small plot of vines using a hybrid of organic and lutte raisonnée practices. The soil in this hillside site is classic Pauillac gravel, and his vines average 50 years of age. All grapes are de-stemmed, and aging occurs in new (60%) and once-used barrels for 18 months. The wine is unfiltered but lightly fined with egg whites before bottling.
Yannick keeps one-upping his own wine. We called his 2015 a masterstroke and his 2016 a legendary triumph because nobody thought it could match the power, concentration, and stunning perfume of the previous five-star vintage…until it did. When the ’17s hit, we asked ourselves if it was the best we’d tasted from him, and before we knew it the stupendous 2018s had stormed the podium. With the arrival of today’s 2019, I think “inviting yet cellar-worthy” is a perfect place to start.
The 2019 vintage was deemed “unique and exceptional” by The Drinks Business, and in an interview with James Suckling, Lafite Rothschild’s technical director exclaimed, “I love the vintage because it was always, always delicious.” Give Chantecler’s Pauillac a two-hour decant and you’ll be saying the same. This packs a superbly polished punch with plenty of gravelly muscle and pencil-lead savor. At this young age, there are gobs of luxuriant black cherry, currant, and plum to be found amidst endless waves of baking spice and fine Cuban tobacco. It can certainly be enjoyed within the next few years, over 2-3 evenings, but the true glory lies beyond its eighth birthday so don’t short yourself!
