TMG Blog

Wide rows of uniform vines stretching toward a distant chateau silhouette, a large wooden fermentation vat in front — Scale lets a large estate do more
Bordeaux

Chateau Talbot and what a large Saint-Julien estate can do

Most people picture a Bordeaux estate as something like a large garden. The reality is...
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A gentle vineyard slope descending toward a wide river in the distance, morning haze over the water — These vines can see the river
Bordeaux

Sociando-Mallet and the vines that can see the river

There is an old saying in the Medoc that the best vines are the ones...
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Shrivelled golden brown grape clusters coated in grey botrytis mould, thin river mist drifting low across the rows — Fog makes the noble rot happen
Bordeaux

Chateau Rieussec and the fog that makes Sauternes work

Every autumn a handful of growers in a small corner of Bordeaux spend their mornings...
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A patchwork of small vineyard parcels divided by low stone markers and hedgerows, a folded hand drawn plot map weighted on a post — Built plot by scattered plot
Bordeaux

Prieure-Lichine and the Margaux estate built plot by plot

Picture a Bordeaux estate and you probably picture a house with a vineyard wrapped around...
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A wooden horse drawn plough resting between vine rows with a cow horn and compost pile nearby in low dawn light — Biodynamics reset a fifth growth
Bordeaux

Pontet-Canet, biodynamics and a fifth growth plateau

In 1855 the organisers of the Paris Exposition asked Bordeaux to produce a ranking of...
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Two similar dark bottles of red wine side by side on a cellar table, one cork freshly pulled, oak barrel shadows behind — A second wine has its own job
Bordeaux

Pichon Baron and what its second wine is really for

Someone brings a bottle to dinner in Wan Chai, the label says Pichon, and half...
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A weathered stone boundary marker half covered in ivy at a vineyard edge with a gravel path beyond — Left off the list, not lesser
Bordeaux

Phelan Segur and the Saint-Estephe the 1855 list left out

Every ranking is a shortcut for something you cannot check yourself. A restaurant guide is...
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Old vine rows pressed against a red brick urban wall with faint rooftops in the distance — A city grew around this vineyard
Bordeaux

Pape Clement and the vineyard the city grew around

There is a tram out of central Bordeaux that runs west towards the airport. Get...
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A weathered stone moat wall beside young grafted vine stakes and an old iron gate hinge, morning mist over gravel rows — Vineyard change moves slowly
Bordeaux

Chateau Olivier and the long lag on vineyard change

If a wine estate decides today to fix a problem in its vineyard, the first...
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Iron rich clay and limestone chunks scattered across a wooden crate, a glass of dark red wine casting a long shadow — Tannin traces back to the soil
Bordeaux

Montrose, Saint-Estephe and where the tannin comes from

Take a mouthful of young Cabernet and something happens that has nothing to do with...
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Large water worn gravel stones piled beside a cut vine root with dark clay visible beneath — Deep gravel shapes the fruit
Bordeaux

Lynch-Bages and what deep Pauillac gravel tastes like

If you dig a pit in a Medoc vineyard, the interesting part is not the...
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A glass filled two thirds with red wine beside a kitchen clock reading an evening hour on a plain weekday table — Buy this for Saturday not 2040
Bordeaux

L'Evangile, Pomerol, and buying for Saturday not 2040

The single most reliable statistic in the wine trade is also the least discussed: the...
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