2020 Chateau les Vimieres Haut-Medoc 750 ml

Eric Boissenot is the superstar enologist who Wine Spectator christened “Bordeaux’s Secret Weapon.” Decanter calls him “one of the most influential figures in Bordeaux because he consults for Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, and Lafite—four of the five First Growths, plus Leoville Las Cases, Montrose, and Cos d’Estournel.

Château les Vimières is Boissenot’s personal estate—he owns and runs it—and from its exceptionally old vines he crafts one of the Médoc’s great under-the-radar wines. The 2020, made in a tiny quantity in a fantastic vintage, earned a stunning 97 points at the Decanter World Wine Awards. 

Today, the vines at Château les Vimières average over 90 years in age. That would be old anywhere in the world, but Bordeaux tends to replant after 30-50 years to keep yields higher—making these some of the oldest vines in the Haut-Médoc. They’re exceptionally hard to work mechanically as they’re planted meter-by-meter, a high-density that increases vine competition and lowers yields even further. Boissenot also employs Simonit pruning on these vines, which is exceptionally knowledge- and labor-intensive, but preserves better sap-flow throughout the vines and creates healthier, more vibrant plants.

In 2020, those vines were treated to a spectacular growing season that “produced brilliant wines” across Bordeaux, according to the Wine Advocate. The crowning glory of a trio of warm, dry vintages, the year produced terroir-expressive wines with gorgeously rich fruit—and Boissenot captured it perfectly. 

Once harvested, the wine is treated to the same attention to detail as the Grand Cru Classé estates for which Boissenot is famous for advising. The result is a wine that any Bordeaux enthusiast should seek out and savor.