2016 Chateau La Garde – Pessac (750ml)

Located right next door to Latour-Martillac — and the very winery where superstar winemaker Guillaume Pothier of Carmes Haut-Brion got his start — La Garde is one of Pessac-Léognan’s great sleeper values. The 2016, widely considered the best vintage the estate has ever produced, is richly textured and packed with dense black-currant fruit, its concentration braced by firm, black tannins and succulent underlying fruitiness. Deep, dark, and revealing — with black cherry, cassis, and a touch of smoky spice — this is a serious, well-structured Pessac red drinking beautifully today with room to keep improving. A 62% Merlot-based blend aged in French oak, from one of the appellation’s most storied gravel plateaus.