2019 Chateau Tour Maillet Pomerol Bordeaux 750 ml

The 95-point 2019 Château Tour Maillet was grown in an excellent vintage barely a ten-minute walk from Château L’Évangile and Petrus—two storied estates that fetch $250 and WAY more per bottle—so you’d think it would cost a mint.  

And that’s why we call it one of the best-kept secrets on the Right Bank.

Tour Maillet might be better known, were it not so tiny. But since the entire vineyard is just over two hectares and they produce just a thousand cases, the estate remains virtually unknown outside of the few insiders who scoop up its production every year.

When the Lagardère family bought Tour Maillet in 1982, Pomerol was a very different place. The 70s were not a boom time in Bordeaux, and although Petrus was one of the most collectible wines in France, L’Évangile hadn’t yet been purchased by Lafite—and needless to say, neither was nearly as expensive as they are today.

In 1999, under the direction of Gaël Lagardère, Tour Maillet took a step into the big time. Gaël invested in modern equipment—things like temperature-regulated stainless steel fermenters, a modern pneumatic press, and oxygen regulation systems—that allowed Tour Maillet to more precisely vinify their wines and put quality on a steady upward trajectory.

That also led them to hire Michel Rolland’s crack team—and in the easy 2019 vintage, that team didn’t have to do much. The Wine Advocate declared the year “turned out brilliantly,” as the dry, mild winter allowed the growing season to start off early, and a rainy spring allowed vines to store water ahead of summer. The end of the season was a dream, and it shows perfectly in this spectacular Pomerol.