Clos du Jaugueyron Margaux Rouge 2017

Location: France, Bordeaux, Margaux

Winemaker: Michel Théron

Winemaker: Michel Théron

Grapes: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

‘Clos de Jaugueyron Margaux’ is the most important wine Michel makes. Long, complex, probably indestructible. It is a wine that is true to the traditions of Margaux— without the chateau owner, the cellar master and the army of workers.

From us at M&L: Despite its long and celebrated winemaking traditions, Bordeaux’s modern identity tends to correlate to sky-high prices, inexpensive large-scale production, and few dedicated biodynamic and organic vignerons. The wines of Michel Théron at Clos du Jaugeyron prove that even in Bordeaux, there is still the pure truth of soil, and dedication to its health can only result in wines of great purity and subtlety. Born in Minervois, Michel had originally planned to return to the Languedoc and take over his family’s estate after completing his winemaking studies in Bordeaux. Of course, all that changed when he met his wife Stéphanie, a Bordelaise. He ended up staying in Haut-Médoc. In 1994, they produced their first wine from a small parcel in Cantenac. By 2008, they were biodynamically and organically certified. No chemicals are used in the vines, despite the fact that chemical practices are common in Bordeaux due to insects and rot from the humid Atlantic climate. He believes that wines are truly made in the vines, not the cellar. He usually ferments whole-cluster to achieve a more gentle press; thus he employs minimal racking and uses extended lees contact with battonage to encourage structure.

This is what Margaux is known for, and Michel’s most important wine: from his oldest vines, some of which are over 100, and hand-selected from specific parcels based on small shifts in terroir from the higher part of the vineyard than the lower. Michel ages the wine for 12 months in barrel, then then lets it settle en cuve for 9 months. Sensitive, brooding, expertly fine tannins, old-school Bordeaux at its absolute best. Drink well between now and into 2030.