The French Connection Sampler Set 750 ml

This past spring, we began a journey that took us to practically every corner of France’s most famous region. We had one goal: to bring back the best possible wines we could find. Of the over 500 bottles we tasted, these nine are the ones we couldn’t wait to share. 

Every bottle earned its place on this list, and we are beyond proud to be able to offer them directly to you, before they even arrive in the United States. For the next 72 hours, we’re sharing them at case-buy prices on single bottles. We’re even offering an additional 5% discount on these wines as a set. 

A showcase like this is why we flew to France in the first place: To discover wines that transmit what makes Bordeaux (and Cahors, too!) so exciting sip after sip, and—despite the fame of the region—so remarkably priced.

2016 Château Lafont Fourcat A Nos Amours Bordeaux

$22.99

Grown on 19 acres in the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation of Bordeaux that were chosen by legendary consultant Paul-Marie Morillon of Chateaux Ausone, Mondotte, and Yquem fame, this bottling rarely sees our side of the Atlantic. James Suckling loved its notes of “wet stones and black truffle…as well as ripe dark-plum and berry aromas, leading to a smooth and succulent palate that has superb polish and poise.” He summed it up by simply calling it a “great wine.”

2014 Château Valandraud Virginie de Valandraud Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

$44.99

Château Valandraud is one of the most important, influential wines to come out of Bordeaux in the past quarter-century. The 2014 Virginie de Valandraud provides all the pleasure and stylistic idiosyncrasy that have made the estate's grand vin so important, but at half the price: We’re offering it here for $44.99.  

Fermented in small lots and aged in 100% new French oak, this wine has won over some of the most respected critics in the world. James Suckling awarded it 94 points, calling it “impressive," and Wine Advocate put Virginie de Valandraud’s achievement most succinctly noting, “it surpasses many a self-aggrandizing big gun in Saint Emilion.”

2015 Château Potensac Medoc

$33.99

We’ve been fans of Château Potensac for years: It’s one of the few non-classed-growth Bordeaux that our team tends to stock up on, vintage after vintage, for our own collections. Because when it comes to quality for the price, pedigree, and the overall pleasure it reliably delivers, there are few châteaux that even come close. Perfumed and expressive, volunteering aromas of freshly-picked violets, black currant, black cherry, allspice, dried herbs, and crushed stones, this Bordeaux more than delivers on its value price.

2015 Château Bel-Air Cuvee Jean et Gabriel Lussac Saint-Emilion

$24.99

Château Bel-Air is a sprawling property with 21 hectares of vines in Saint-Émilion, all of them spreading out on a plateau of clay and silica gravel. It’s been in the family for over 100 years, and their dedication to the land was immediately evident: This is more than the Roi family’s work…it’s their calling. 

Only 6,000 bottles were produced of this stellar wine that James Suckling praised for its “attractive mulberry and ripe red plums.” We loved everything about it, and by the time our visit was done, we’d snapped up a small allocation for our members.

2015 Château Marsau Côtes de Francs

$24.99

This is a stunner of a red, and proof that world-class terroir and phenomenal wines exist throughout Bordeaux, even in undersung sub-regions. Crafted by Michel Rolland, Marsau is a testament to the incredible quality being produced in Bordeaux at outstanding prices.  

But the critics beat us to discovering Château Marsau, and its stunning signature red, which we’re thrilled to share today: With its iron-rich clay soils and exquisite Merlot vines, Robert Parker has called Château Marsau the Pétrus of the Côtes de Francs. James Suckling said that this 2015 is “full-bodied, soft and round, yet the tannins pull you in with their power.”

2016 Château Tournebrise Lalande de Pomerol

$24.99

Grown within sight of the famous Pétrus plateau, the 2016 Château Tournebrise is a tiny-production ruby jewel that you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Boasting deeply expressive flavors of mixed plums, brown spice, and a haunting tobacco note that lingers through the long finish, the 2016 Château Tournebrise is a wine that’s inextricably tied to its region, and a stunning value bottle for everyday dinners and the cellar alike.

2015 Château la Branne Crus Bourgeois Medoc

$17.99

Located just to the north of St.-Estèphe, in the heart of the Médoc, Château La Branne’s vines grow on gravelly sand, clay, and limestone soils that transmit similar power and muscularity to the best of its famous neighbor St.-Estèphe, but at a fraction of the price. For comparison, the 2015 Cos d’Estournel runs over $200 per bottle, whereas the 2015 Château La Branne is just $17.99.

It’s a remarkable steal. James Suckling awarded it 92 points, calling it “a well-wrought wine [that] melds the tannins and fruit into a balanced whole.” Wine Enthusiast loved its “very lively red cherry and strawberry fruit tinged with kirsch.”

2016 Château de Quattre Malbec Cahors

$17.99

Grown in Cahors, the ancestral home of the Malbec variety that originally produced some of the most famously rich, dense wines in all of France, this 2016 is exactly as exciting as we had hoped. in recent years, Cahors has become a national epicenter of innovation in viticulture and enology, and the Château de Quattre is among the producers that are generating the most buzz throughout France for it. Earning 95 points and a Platinum award in the Decanter World Wine Awards for its “intense, vivid drench of pure fruits, touch of liquorice, fine tannins, and good length,” this is most definitely a property on the rise.

2016 Château Croix de Labrie Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

$110

As soon as we started walking around the Château Croix de Labrie property with proprietors Axelle and Pierre Courdurié this past spring, it became immediately clear why none other than Robert Parker himself has said that they produce “one of the most decadently hedonistic and luxuriously fruity wines of Bordeaux. It also possesses undeniable complexity, texture, and class.” Lively, inviting purple floral aromas are joined by plum, red currant, chocolate, and spice, which give way to deep fruit flavors that showcase why this Grand Cru is growing faster than any other. Don't wait.