Top-Pedigree Right Bank Bordeaux for Under $30
- 93 pts James Suckling93 pts JS
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2018 Chateau Bel-Air Cuvee Jean et Gabriel Lussac Saint-Emilion 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
A Cult Winemaker’s Daily Bordeaux
A few years back, our friend Benoit Touquette—the French-born, Bordeaux-bred winemaker and mastermind consultant who’s kept Screaming Eagle, Ovid, and Realm at the top—poured us a glass of his favorite under-the-radar Bordeaux.
It was the Château Bel-Air Cuvée Jean et Gabriel Lussac St-Émilion, and we were stunned—not just by the high quality, but by the under-$30 price. We nabbed an allocation, it became a fast sellout, and we were sure we had a perennial favorite on our hands… until we tried to score the next vintage. Then the next. But there was none to be had.
Château Bel-Air is a tiny producer whose wines are commonly hoarded by locals and a handful of private retailers. Some vintages don’t make it to the US at all—but we never gave up, and we finally got the 93-point 2018 Cuvée Jean et Gabriel at an incredible price.
Crafted by superstar Stéphane Derenoncourt in the superb 2018 vintage, this is the kind of Right Bank gem you expect to get for about $50, not less than $30. Redolent of wild plums, black cherries, and violets with undertones of cedar, allspice, mocha, and clove, it’s pleasantly rounded and well-structured. The palate is velvety, with blackberry and currant joined by notes of wild herbs, tobacco, toast, and espresso on a long and harmonious finish.
Château Bel-Air is a sprawling property with 52 acres of vines, all of them spread out on a plateau of clay and silica gravel. It’s been in the Roi family for over 100 years, and their dedication to the land is immediately evident: This is more than their work… it’s their calling.
They've wisely entrusted that terroir to Derenoncourt, who has consulted on internationally clamored-for wines at Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Smith Haut Lafitte. He crafted this wine from the top lots on the property: vines averaging 45 years of age that are planted in blue clay soils and lend a stunning level of depth and concentration. The wine spent 18 months in 40% new French oak before being bottled, adding impeccable flavors of baking spice and herbs while softening the tannins.
The result is a wine that’s amazing in the short term and also fit for cellaring. Not much of this 2018 made it to the States, and we could only secure a small allocation for our members. Don't miss it.