2015 Chateau Lassegue Les Cadrans de Lassegue 750 ml

Rarely Available Bordeaux from a Legend

Pierre Seillan is a legend in his own time. The French-born winemaker and vine-whisperer is the genius behind the 100-point-scoring Vérité in California, Tuscan standout Tenuta di Arceno, and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Château Lassegue.

Today’s 2015 Chateau Lassegue Les Cadrans de Lassegue, a Right Bank blend from a spectacular vintage, defies Seillan’s high-priced norm, and is one of the best Bordeaux values we’ve seen in a long time. Dripping with plum, cassis, allspice, loganberry, and leather, his latest release combines classic Bordeaux structure with the complexity that makes wine lovers swoon. At $28, it makes bargain-hunters swoon too.

Unfortunately, most consumers never have a chance to taste it: Distribution of this second wine of Lassegue is generally limited to restaurants—a retail presence is rare—and it tends to be snapped up from the Michelin-starred lists of the Nomad, Brennan’s, and The Jefferson as soon as it’s added. But we snagged 100 cases to share from the outstanding 2015 vintage, when Wine Spectator proclaimed Saint-Émilion is “the sweet spot.”

Named after the sundials on the outside of the château, in honor of the incredible exposure to sunlight that Lassegue benefits from, Chateau Lassegue is blessed with a terroir that would be enviable anywhere in the world. Chalk and chalky clay soils dominate, which give the wine its structure and finesse, but each parcel on the property is unique enough that Seillan has pioneered a method of vinification by what he calls “micro-crus.”

In other words, fruit from each individual soil type is crushed, fermented, and aged separately, in order for the terroir to have the chance to speak with as much clarity as possible. On top of that, he has pioneered the use of barrels from not just specific forests in France, but also in using barrels custom made for him, hewn from wood from specific parts of each forest, to better harness the unique characteristics of trees near rivers or far from them, exposed to more wind or less, and countless other variables. Simply put, Chateau Lassegue takes the practices of first-growth châteaux and applies them to their everyday bottling—an incredibly rare practice, which lends marvelous precision and complexity to their wines. The value-add to this 2015 Les Cadrans release is tasteable in its balance between ripe plum fruit and gorgeous minerality and spice—a combination rarely seen in sub $75 Bordeaux.

The Merlot and Cabernet Franc-driven blend made in the same way as the grand vin, but with less new oak and especially approachable in its youth, is utterly delicious right now. The 2015’s accessible complexity and black-fruit generosity, which exist alongside a muscular and energetic structure, make it a standout among its peers and a classic Saint-Émilion. This a bottle that’s ready to be opened now but also has the potential to evolve for several more years, and an absolute steal given its pedigree and flat-out deliciousness.

The chance to experience the handiwork of a legend like Pierre Seillan typically comes at a far higher price. Snap this one up while you can.