Chateau Guilhem de Mestre 2022
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In the Bordeaux merchant wine scene, the winners win big, and the losers fight for the scraps. It’s been this way for 160 years, ever since the 1855 Grand Cru Classe system was put into place. But we’re gonna change it!
The system was and is a rating of the wineries in Bordeaux. It rates them 1 to 5, with one being the highest or best and five being the lowest. Easy to understand, easy to learn, right? Right.
Yet there are complications.
The system was put into place by wine merchants (like me). They simply rated the wines on price – those wines which sold for higher prices were rated higher. Which is all a bit circular: those pricing the wines rated the wines on price, which in turn raised the prices of the higher-rated wines.
Further, and more shockingly, this system has never been changed, and it’s still in place today.
There are now over 14,000 chateaux (wineries) in Bordeaux. Yet only 65 of them qualify for the 1855 Grand Cru Classe system. While those 65 chateaux are great, I submit to you that in those other 13,000-odd Bordeaux wineries, there is quite a bit of unexplored greatness. And the more we explore, the greater the rewards.
I would like to introduce you to one such chateau: Guilhem de Mestre.
Earlier this year, I met with the owner of the chateau, Xavier Milhade, and was deeply impressed. Not only is his wine outstanding, but Xavier is a wonderfully generous and kind man. As the fourth-generation owner and winemaker of this estate, he has been heartily exporting his wine to the United States for over 30 years.
On his estate, and with its resulting wine, there is a deep concern with affordability to the end client (which is just shocking to hear from a Bordelaise winemaker, given how far the prices have climbed in the last decade alone). They are also driven to produce wines concomitant with Bordeaux’s terroir.
These are bold and big ideas, and it shows in Chateau Guilhem de Mestre’s 2022 vintage:
The nose opens with a profound expression of classic Bordeaux aromas: blackberry liqueur with just a hint of the piquant, green brambliness; a sweet cedary note that speaks of early morning fire and fog, mingling together; and the unique expression of earthy black fruits that seemingly only Bordeaux can provide.
The palate is fresh and texturally energetic, with a lingering sense of power on the back. This power clues us into its ageworthiness. Indeed, I have been told (as well as read in Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) that Guilhem from the 1950s and 1960s are still vibrant and full of life. And while I enjoy this 2022 now, it’s important to remember that ’22 was a great vintage for Bordeaux, and one that I am sure will live on in your cellar for at least the next 30 years. So of course, being the wine merchant that I am, I recommend it in full cases (and then you would get the wooden case too!).
Bordeaux doesn’t have to be expensive to be great. Every time I have tasted this wine blind, I pegged its price at $40. But it’s not. And that is the magic of exploring Bordeaux.
