Here you can find some nice wine moments I experienced in the past month that incited me to choose St. Julien as 'appellation of the month'.

The first 'wow' experience was when I recently got the chance to taste a Connetable de Talbot dating from 2010 from a friend's wine cellar. This second wine turned out to be beautifully young, with no big oxidation and a fresh, fruity and elegant nose. Same goes for the palate: still very intensely fruity, fresh, refined and elegant without any sign of oxidation! What a pleasure to drink, and it shows potential!

Another nice wine experience was in a cosy Ghent restaurant/bistro, Steendam 66 (which I highly recommend: good food, very extensive wine list and good prices), where I chose a bottle of Clos du Marquis 2010. The friendly waiter brought us a special 'Zwiesel' glass in a bigger format. The delicious aromas came to the surface as soon as the wine was poured! After swirling, it was a real feast for the nose with notes of blueberries, blackcurrant, herbs, fine tobacco, but also floral hints. Not to mention the fantastic experience on the palate: the wine had incredible power but in combination with unrestrained finesse and elegance. The texture was silky, the fruit young and fresh, mixed with some herbs and a wonderful freshness. The length was also enormous. What a feast!

These experiences are no coincidence: this appellation, with its 920 ha, is very concentrated around the church and within the borders of the of St. Julien Beychevelle municipality. The terroir, mainly located along the Gironde, belongs to the most beautiful plateau of the Médoc (certainly that of Léoville Las Cases). It is therefore the village where 11 Grand Cru Classés from 1855 are located (5 of which are Second Grand Crus).

It is often said, and rightly so, that the wines from St. Julien (located between Margaux and Pauillac) are an ideal synthesis of both appellations: they hold power in the taste (as well as the storage potential) of a Pauillac and have the elegance and softness of a Margaux. In short: here you will find the greatest wines of Bordeaux! The terroir, consisting of stones and boulders (deposits of the Gironde over the centuries) on a clay-lime base make for perfect, complex wines with a lot of storage potential. They usually contain a good quantity of cabernet sauvignon.

Some wines can be stored for 10 to 15 years. The absolute top wines can even be stored for up to 50 years. This top quality can unfortunately be seen in the prices. Luckily, we still have a few affordable St. Juliens for sale that you can enjoy! I am thinking of Ch. Moulin Riche (from the vintners of Ch. Léoville Poyferré), Ch. Moulin de la Rose or Ch. La Bridane (family domains, but very well made), Ch. Lalande Borie or Ch. du Glana (unbelievable value for money!) or some very qualitative second wines (e.g. Fiefs de Lagrange, Connétable de Talbot, Pavillon de Poyferré, Réserve de Léoville Barton...).

Click here to discover the delicious wines of St. Julien.