Château la Peyruche '1603' Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux AOC 2023

Château la Peyruche takes its name from the limestone bedrock it has stood upon in Côtes de Bordeaux since 1603. Situated on the imposing hillsides overlooking the Garonne River, the Château has been continuously farmed ever since its founding, but today is stewarded by a father-son duo committed to regenerative farming, and to making wine as it was done in the days before modernization. This cuvée is made from a single plot of organically farmed young merlot vines (Les Pins Francs), and starts with hand harvested fruit spontaneously fermented with native yeasts and bottled without added sulfur. A beguiling combination of burly and burlesque, this dark and debonnaire merlot opens the show with bursts of spiced plum, leafy wild raspberry, cedar grove, and cigar humidor. Freshly turned damp leaves in a forest briar patch add a feral note to a supple, velvet-robed palate that displays mushroom and leather tones alongside silky tannins. Old school Bordeaux aficionados and new-wave natural wine fans alike will be delighted! Organically grown, low-intervention/natural wine.