2019 Chateau des Graviers

For his flagship Margaux, Christophe vinifies each variety and each parcel separately, adopting different vinification techniques based on the cépage, and all fermentations occur spontaneously. Comprising all six red grape varieties allowed in the region, this blends just over 60% Cabernet Sauvignon with around 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% each Malbec and Petit Verdot, and 2% Carmenère. It spends 18 months mostly in 225-liter barriques (25% of which are new), with some 600-liter tonneaux, and the occasional clay jar and concrete hexagon. The finished wine displays gorgeous harmony, with taut red fruits mingling with a mouthcoating sense of river rocks, and a just-so level of extraction that holds the wine together without contributing any hardness. Certified organic.