L’Hêtre Côtes de Bordeaux 2023

L’Hêtre is the flagship red of a small right-bank estate, a Merlot-led blend from the Côtes de Bordeaux.

The Côtes de Bordeaux appellation brings together several right-bank districts — Castillon, Francs, Blaye and Cadillac among them — on clay and limestone slopes where Merlot and Cabernet Franc do most of the work and the wines tend to be fresher and more direct than those of the grander communes. This flagship bottling is 85 per cent Merlot with 15 per cent Cabernet Franc. The style is built for detail rather than weight: aromatic and floral to start, then autumnal dark red fruit that builds in layers across the palate, with crisp mineral focus and beautifully detailed tannin running through the finish. It shows what the Côtes can do when the farming is careful and the extraction restrained, and it sits a long way from the heavier, oakier Bordeaux of a generation ago.

Ready to drink now and worth five to eight years in the cellar. Serve at 16 to 18°C with steak, duck confit or a mushroom risotto.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.