2015 Domaine de Baronarques Limoux Red Languedoc 750 ml

During a weeklong trip to the South of France, we made a long-overdue trip to Limoux to call on Domaine de Baronarques. During our visit, they treated us to an extensive tasting, and nothing was drinking more beautifully than the 2015.

After nine years, this 2015 boasts the perfect blend of integration and youthfulness: The fruit is gorgeous, the texture is smooth, and the backbone is still stout—you can drink it now, or cellar it for a decade more. 

The Rothschild clan has an unparalleled reputation for quality, so it speaks volumes that they set their sights on Domaine de Baronarques in Limoux, where the soil consists of clay and limestone, with deposits of gravel and sand—perfect for producing a Right Bank-style wine. Compared to the rest of the roasting Languedoc, Baronarques is high and cool, which makes it an excellent environment for slow and graceful ripening.

Once they took hold of the estate in 1998, their first order of business was to…make no wine. Instead, they assembled an A-team from Mouton and Opus One, and dedicated five years to bringing the estate up to the family’s level of excellence. They planted Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, and implemented world-class viticultural practices. They also installed a new state-of-the-art cellar, and in 2003, Baronarques made the first wine of this new era. From the beginning, the wine was outstanding. 

The 2015 vintage was excellent in Limoux, with August and September conditions that allowed the grapes to ripen slowly and in excellent health. This bottling, which comprises 57% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Syrah, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, is now seamless. Enjoy!