Château Barreyre Bordeaux Supérieur 2010

Bordeaux was blessed with outstanding weather in 2010. With ideal growing conditions throughout the 2010 vintage and traditionally very low vineyard yields, Château Barreyre has produced the château’s most prestigious wine to date. The 2010 Château Barreyre weighs in at a whopping 15% alcohol and is packed with color and flavor. We have been great admirers of the wines of Château Barreyre for a decade, but nothing quite prepared us for the jam packed 2010 Barreyre. The 2010 Château Barreyre displays a deep Margaux-like robe. However, it’s the wine’s deep rich aromas and flavors reminiscent of blackberry, cassis, coffee and dark chocolate, edged by hints of cedar, that make this petit château special and anything but petite. Ample ripe tannins provide this full-bodied wine with excellent structure that should allow it to mature up to a decade. The 2010 Château Barreyre is truly another exceptional effort from an up and coming estate. As with all fine red Bordeaux wines, we suggest allowing the 2010 Château Barreyre considerable aeration before consuming. Opening any bottle of fine red Bordeaux just five minutes before dinner will hardly pay the dividends that an hour or more of aeration in a decanter will provide. If no decanter is available, simply pour a couple of glasses from the bottle and allow the glasses to rest in a cool spot for 20-30 minutes ahead of consuming. Enjoy!

Fine Bordeaux wines the likes of the 2010 Château Barreyre are meant for the gastronomic pleasures of the table. However, one doesn’t have to be Cordon Bleu trained or spend hours in the kitchen preparing an elaborate meal to enjoy this wine. The ultimate glory of good red Bordeaux is how it graces the table by elevating both simple and sophisticated meals. Loin lamb chops; prime rib of beef; steak; whole roasted chickens with a savory sage stuffing; and tender veal chops, grilled slowly to perfection and topped with a mushroom or fruit reduction sauce are some of our favorite pairings with Château Barreyre. Midweek meatloaf, simple stews, and almost any meat and potato meal will provide good companionship to this wine as well. Full-flavored cheeses pair beautifully with this wine, too. Most importantly, the 2010 Château Barreyre appears equally comfortable at an elegant dinner party as it does in the presence of a simple mid-week meal, even when served on a bare kitchen table. So, bring on the glasses and enjoy!

Château Barreyre is evidence of just how fine many of Bordeaux’s smaller, lesser known estates called petits châteaux can be. It is, also, ample testimony to the greatness in Bordeaux of the 2010 vintage. A twenty-two acre property with a view of the Gironde and the nearby port of Macau, Château Barreyre actually lies within the Médoc. It is in fact quite close to Margaux. Yet, on account of its proximity to the river, Château Barreyre is only entitled to the appellation Bordeaux Supérieur – a boon to savvy consumers looking for bona fide Bordeaux at an affordable price.

Château Barreyre is an historic property with an authentic 18th century château. The château was constructed in 1774 by Nicolas Barreyre, but the cultivation of the vine on the property dates back even further. The Barreyre family is a prominent Bordelais family of bourgeois origin, which may explain why the estate weathered the French Revolution and the château remained within the family.

Presently, the viticultural excellence at Château Barreyre is being guided by winemaker Claude Gaudin. Under Gaudin’s watchful eye, Château Barreyre has enjoyed tremendous success, especially in the exceptional 2009 and 2010 vintages. The vineyard practices a very close plantation of its vines and extracts extremely low yields. In fact, its yield per hectare is considerably less than that of many of Bordeaux’s classified growths, which cost three times the price. These factors contribute greatly to the quality of wine produced at the château. On average, the cépage or blend is typically 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petit Verdot, which is similar to that of several nearby Margaux properties, and it’s a cépage that will allow the wine to age beautifully for up to a decade.