The Not-Bordeaux, Bordeaux. Domaine de Galouchey is a throwback to what Bordeaux used to be with a modern interpretation. What is easily recognizable as a micro-estate, Domaine de Galouchey is less than a hectare in Bordeaux. The property is a collaboration lead by Marco Pelletier, the famed Master Sommelier and owner of Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurant Vantre in Paris. Marco, as a sommelier, “cut his teeth” on Bordeaux sort of speak. From his early days as a cellar worker and sommelier for Michel Rostang then later as chef sommelier/wine director for the three-star wine meccas Taillevent and Epicure at Le Bristol. To say that Marco opened his share of Bordeaux is an understatement. Today, as one of the leading voices on minimal intervention wine, Marco jumped at the chance to create a Bordeaux that was more about the place and heritage of the region that possessed an obtainable and everyday enjoyment. The results have been marvelous and Domaine de Galouchey has become one of the most popular wines to be featured by the glass and on wine lists around the globe. We’ve enjoyed this wine in restaurants such as Le Bernardin to Red Hook Tavern. The versatility and appeal of this wine works great with a wide variety of food. A core element to what Marco and his team wished to accomplish. Bordeaux with acidity, fruit, structure and character. As this is a passion project born out of a barren piece of land, the vineyards were planted in 2002 and the vines have been farmed organic since inception. All work is done by hand as the vine spacing is slightly denser than the average vineyard of the region. A farming practice that Marco took inspiration from in Burgundy. Looking to force the vines to dig deeper and control the vigor of the plant. The more unusual piece about this vineyard is that for its tiny size, it is planted to nine different grape varieties. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are the majority of the vineyard but there is also Petit Verdot, Carmenere, Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle and Semillion. All of which make their way into the Domaine de Galouchey. Each grape is harvested separately and de-stemmed by hand. The grapes are never crushed by force, allowing for free-run juice that is naturally fermented with native yeast. The wines then occasionally receive a pump over to circulate the juice and keep the cap moist. Aging is a combination of stainless steel and 18 months in 3rd and 4th filled Bordeaux barrels. There is no new oak nor extended maceration conducted here and the wines are then ever so lightly filtered before bottling. This is a modern-day nod to how Bordeaux was made pre-1980s. Much cleaner and controlled but with minimal intervention and the concept of expressing a singular specific, smaller vineyard. In the case of Domaine de Galouchey it is more of expressing the garden. That is why Marco opted to call the wine Vin de Jardin as a play on the tiny size of the vineyard and rather than being lumped into the grouping of “Garagiste (garage wine)”. It is Marco’s final way of saying the wine in made in the Garden (vineyard) not in a garage. No matter the case, one thing is clear, the 2018 Domaine de Galouchey is an absolute winner. Cheers, |
 |
