Red Wines

Every vintage since 2005, Philippe Raoux, owner of Château d'Arsac (Margaux), has invited a different winemaker to oversee the harvest on a plot of approximately ten hectares. This year, he has entrusted the reins to a Zulu winemaker, Ntsiki Biyela.

A land, a vineyard, a person. "The idea is to demonstrate that, of these three essential elements in winemaking, the third prevails."

Philippe Raoux smiles. Since 2005, he's invited a different winemaker to his vineyard, Château d'Arsac, every year. And he gives them carte blanche. Their mission: to choose the vineyard plots on the property, direct the harvest, oversee the vinification, blending, and aging of the wine, until finally creating his cuvée.

Selected from among internationally renowned professionals, seven winemakers produced "their" wine from the same material. They stayed at the estate seven or eight times for the duration of an adventure similar in format to an artist residency.

All the invited winemakers were given nicknames. Michel Rolland, aka "The Magician," inaugurated the series in 2005, followed by another Frenchman, Denis Dubourdieu, "The Professor." Later, the Italian "Poet" Andrea Franchetti, the Frenchmen Stéphane Derenoncourt ("The Autodidact") and Éric Boissenot ("The Médocain"), Californian Zelma Long ("The Scientist"), and Argentinean "Virtuosa" Susana Balbo, flexed their talents.

Each worked about ten hectares to produce a vintage of around 30,000 bottles. "The results are astonishing," enthuses Philippe Raoux. "It's as if we asked musicians from different backgrounds to play the same score. Today we can compare the vintages and discern in each the strong personality of these winemakers."

"This experience also increases our open-mindedness; each of the invited winemakers has specific requests for working in their own way," he continues. Some asked for the barrels to be placed outside during the day and brought inside at night. For others, it was necessary to split the entire vine, or remove the branches from the bunches to keep only the grapes attached to the main stalk...

Conceived with Jean-François Moueix and Dominique Renard, but later developed by Philippe Raoux, the concept is unique

Called "The Winemakers' Collection," the collection is commercially available with imagery borrowed from the movies. Each vintage's label features a black-and-white portrait of its producer, like a movie poster.

Retailing for between €300 and €350, the box set containing the first six volumes of the collection features a Hollywood-style pop-up setting, complete with spotlights and a folding producer's chair.

This fall, Zulu winemaker Ntsiki Biyela will arrive from South Africa to produce her eighth vintage, dubbed "Season 8" in honor of the American TV series. A box set featuring the first four female guests is already in the works. And like her predecessors, Ntsiki Biyela will have her name engraved on a bronze plaque embedded in the cellar floor: "Winemakers Boulevard."

From vines planted on the terraces of the Maipo River in the El Tránsito area and harvested very early, this Cabernet was aged 100% in barrels, although only 20% was new, resulting in a wine with an incredible precision of red fruit, spicy notes, and a hint of herbaceousness.

It has the herbaceous character of the Maipo Alto, but also has the softness and fine tannins of the Maipo Alto. It can be aged in the cellar for years.

A baby, obviously, but it's already showing its mettle. Lovely black cherry notes with a touch of leather and marjoram. Unmistakably Rioja. It's more refined, rounder, softer, and more accessible than the 1998 and 2001 at this point in their evolution.

I recommend opening it an hour before serving, as it needs air to express itself at its best.

Excellent with white and red meats, I recommend it for a special occasion.

It's not an everyday wine.

Esprit de Pavie is a Bordeaux AOC wine blending 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon from both the renowned Château Pavie in Saint-Émilion and the nearby Château Clos L'Église in the Côtes de Castillon, purchased by Pavie's owner, Gérard Perse. The nose presents herbaceous notes of cedar and tobacco, followed by bold cherry and Asian fruit. The firmness is also evident on the palate, with a hint of licorice supporting the dark fruit, and a crisp finish that pairs well with food.

Excellent with red meats, chicken and cheeses, it is a must in your cellar.

Aroma of red fruit, nutty, slightly earthy and slightly woody, with hints of black berries, notes of tobacco, licorice, and a touch of aromatic herbs. Tart, slightly muted fruit, notes of dried flowers, earthy and dried vegetal, herbaceous, with a certain persistence. Noticeably dry tannins, notes of nutty wood on the palate. Not very deep, with some persistence, slightly bitter on the finish, still slightly dry.

This wine pairs very well with tasty red meats and mature cheeses.

The ninth estate in the Vignobles Jeanjean collection is located in the prestigious Pic St. Loup appellation, north of Montpellier, a name derived from the distinctive 658-meter-high mountain that dominates the region. A unique and omnipresent place for all Montpellier residents, but above all, a renowned and recognized appellation.

The Pic St. Loup is a place of legends, hikes, and winemakers. In this setting, the Domaine des Rocs embodies all the freshness of the Pic.

It is in fact one of the coolest and most humid appellations in Languedoc, at the foot of the Cévennes, which produces delicate, elegant and fresh wines.

The estate's 13 hectares are mainly planted with Syrah and Grenache.

This wine pairs very well with all red meats, but also with tasty cheeses.

Intense ruby red. Aroma: plum, ripe blackberries, thyme, sage. Palate: blackberry jam, cloves, licorice, spices, herbaceous notes, full-bodied, balanced. Excellent with eggplant parmigiana, stew, beef barbacoa, roast lamb, roast beef, ribs, steak.

The Yecla appellation, located between Valencia and Alicante, has experienced a revival since the 1980s. It is one of the most popular in Spain, dynamic and committed to producing delicious wines. Highly sought-after, the appellation's wines are powerful and flavorful.
They can age up to twenty years, for enthusiasts. A little surprise, this denomination

Fruity aromas of berries and with spicy, mineral and smoky notes of red and black fruits.
On the palate it is elegant, light but structured / good acidity, balanced, fresh with soft tannins.
The finish is pleasant and long.

Recommended with white and red meat and medium-aged cheeses.

Organic Wine

This superbly balanced Reserva is the perfect introduction to the wines of the famous Spanish winery La Rioja Alta, a highly respectable wine for those who have never tasted high-quality Spanish wines and want to approach this wine region starting from a wine of great class.

With perfect ripeness, energetic freshness, strength, softness and undergrowth spice, Viña Alberdi, after two years in American oak, offers a glimpse of the fascinating and seductive style found in the Rioja Alta.

A wine with strong flavours, which as a pairing requires seasoned meats, game, personally tried with wild boar I can say that they seem born to be savoured together.

2015 "Eole" Château de Cordes - Minervois: One of the areas that produces the highest quality wine in the south of France, an incredibly fresh wine from Shiraz/Syrah and Grenache grapes that give a deep and intense flavor, a wine with fruity flavors with aromas of fruit such as raspberry or blackcurrant, excellent to pair with beef, specifically with an excellent beef stew or veal.

Produced predominantly from Merlot and Cabernet Franc, Saint-Émilion wines tend to have a rich, thirst-quenching tannic structure, balanced by plum and black cherry characteristics, along with chocolate and sweet spices, developing savory tobacco and cedar characteristics with age thanks to aging in wood.

This structured wine pairs very well with aged cheeses, beef, venison and various poultry.

2015 Château Chevalier Lescours - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru - This vintage was strongly influenced by a spring that was already warm in May, an almost perfect summer that made this wine rich and intense, with hints of berries, blackcurrant and almost smoky flavors thanks to its aging in wood.

Pair with dishes such as venison, chamois, poultry or beef.

A very versatile wine for special occasions.

2019 Château L'Etoile de Viaud - Bordeaux

On the nose, it is fruity, elegant, and lively, offering richness and concentration, freshness, and a fine texture. It reveals notes of plump blackcurrant, strawberry, and subtle blackberry notes combined with hints of violet, small black berries, as well as hints of licorice and toasted bread. On the palate, it is fruity and balanced, offering a savory structure and pleasantness.
On the palate, this wine expresses notes of black cherry, plump and juicy raspberry and small notes of plump and juicy blackberry combined with small touches of plump and juicy blueberry, as well as hints of toasted bread, vanilla and very fine notes of chocolate.
The tannins are well-constructed. The finish is powerful. Good

2023 Mâcon, Grand Vin de Bourgogne Marcel de Normont - Mâcon -

A fruity and rounded wine that at the same time maintains great freshness and a small creamy note on the finish, with many hints of lemon, green apple, and passion fruit.

excellent as an aperitif with cured meats and young cheeses, or with white meat appetizers and seafood appetizers such as molluscs and crustaceans.

2019 Casali Del Barone - Barolo -

2021 Le Grand Noir "Réserve" - Languedoc -

The wine has a generous, fruity aroma, imbued with notes of blackcurrant jam, cherry, blackberry, undergrowth and spices thanks to its main grapes, Shiraz and Granaccia.

Excellent to drink with veal and red meat stew, or slightly mature cheeses