Chateau Mareil 2018 Medoc, Cru Bourgeois

Here is perhaps the best Cru Bourgeois value you will ever find!

The wine-growing family of whom the owner, Marie-Françoise Brun is a descendant, has been settled in Mareil for more than four hundred years. Interestingly, Château Mareil has been frequently transmitted from mother to daughter over the ages. Today, Château Mareil has a 62-acre vineyard situated between the Abbey de l'Isle, founded in 1079, and the château itself.

In 1997 with her husband Marie-Francois upgraded the vineyard  and also constructed a large and efficient winemaking facility comprising a vat room, barrel cellar, and warehouse, all totally modern. The soils on this Medoc estate are chalky-clay and the vineyard is planted 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc with vines averaging 28 years of age.

For this wine from the outstanding 2018 vintage, grapes were harvested and then sorted by hand at the winery. The wine was fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and macerated for up to 30 days. It was aged in oak barrels for 12 months.

This was awarded a Silver Medal in the Concours Mondial Bruxelles and Wine Enthusiast Magazine scored this 92 points saying "North of Saint-Estèphe and close to the Gironde estuary, this estate has produced a savory, mouthfilling wine. Ripe tannins, juicy black-fruit acidity and medium-term potential are all here. Drink from 2024."