2015 Chateau Larroque Bordeaux Superieur 750 ml

Decanter’s 95-Point Bargain Bordeaux Red

The demands from Wine Access clients writing in for more this 95-point 2015 Château Larroque Bordeaux Supérieur are reaching a climax (we think). And we do get it: $15 and 95 points for a Decanter World Wine Awards “Best Value Bordeaux Red”? No-brainer. But really, the clamor isn’t just for the score. It’s about how really good this red Bordeaux red is once you taste it. Of 17,200 wines judged at the 2017 Decanter event, the magazine’s tasting note on the Larroque reads like that of a Grand Cru: “An attractive nose of oak overlaying seductive dark red fruits with hints of blackcurrant leads into a complex palate with silky tannins. Soft, earthy flavours of dark cherry and currant matches silky tannins to finish.” 

The CFOs and official family accountants among you will do the math quickly: The 2014 Branaire-Ducru with 89 points, is going for $50. The 2007 Pape Clement fetches $135 and just 90 points. What, exactly, does the $15 Château Larroque Bordeaux Supérieur have in common with these household names of Bordeaux? In the “unquestionably great” 2015 Bordeaux vintage, they all earned top honors at the Decanter World Wine Awards, but only Larroque came out with a 95-point score at an unbeatable price.

We say it ad nauseum: Spectacular vintages like Bordeaux’s 2015 have a “rising tide” effect that can catapult everyday wines into the stratosphere normally reserved for one-percenter wines. In this particular case, the Ducourt family’s sustainably farmed red from their 150 acres of vines on the border of the Graves appellation is the wine punching way above its weight.

$15 for a 95-point Bordeaux, approved by the world’s greatest tasters? There’s no downside whatsoever — unless you miss out.