Château Tronquoy-Lalande Saint-Estèphe 2018

You can’t shop for great Bordeaux in a wine store. Well, you can try - nothing is impossible - but the highly pointed gems, like Château Tronquoy-Lalande sell out far too quickly, and often well in advance or ‘en primeur’ months before it’s even hit our Australian shores. We discovered this beauty on a recent wine-buying trip to France, and get this: almost immediately upon it hitting our critical lips, even before knowing any details about the Château, we knew it over-delivered in quality. Those ‘aha’ moments happen, and when they do, you want to jump up and down. Are you a French wine loving ‘mofo? Fantastique! You are going to love this classy rouge (and in the six-pack, it’ll even arrive in a stylish wooden box)

Four famous grape varieties are used to make the premium blend. Merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and cabernet franc. Every year, the unique blend is different, but they all have a particular role to play to bring together density, aroma, flavour and a beautiful feathery long length to best reflect the style of the Château and the excellent vintage. The symphonious dance of tobacco, French oak resin, blackcurrant and liquorice aromas all combine to give this deep Bordeaux a distinctive personality, worthy of a dinner in a ‘James Bond’ tuxedo. Super classy.