“I continue to love this estate, which is run by the team of Hélène Garcin and Patrice Levêque… full-bodied richness, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, a terrific sense of freshness, and ripe yet integrated and polished tannins.”
-Jeb Dunnuck
Ladies and gentlemen: we’ve reached the exciting part of our developing Bordeaux program at Mission:
Due to the growing interest from our customers, we’re now purchasing back vintages of library Bordeaux editions DIRECTLY from the châteaux—something only a handful of retailers in the world are currently doing.
The Bordeaux business is a tricky one because—unlike all other wines and spirits from around the globe—there are no exclusive distributors for Bordeaux. The wines are available to any retailer, anywhere in the world, so long as you can pay for your own shipping, hire your own importer, and handle the logistics. That being said, getting the good stuff requires relationship building.
Because most retailers aren’t set up for that type of commitment, a series of negotiants handle the purchasing, aging, and selling of it, which is where 99% of the world gets its Bordeaux. That other 1% represents the tiny amount of sales that are done château-direct, meaning the wine never leaves the property and is sold by the winemaker itself, rather than a middleman.
That’s what we’re here to talk about today: that 1%.
Because of our on-going relationship with winemakers Hélène Garcin and Patrice Lévèque (and the amazing feedback from our customers who love their wines), we recently put together a château-direct container of their favorite library wines across the multiple properties they own and operate, including one that’s completely new to Mission: Château d’Arce.
Located in the Côte de Castillon, d’Arce is almost entirely unfamiliar to American consumers and is rarely sold in the U.S., but its bang-for-your-buck Cabernet Sauvignon character is well-known across the Atlantic. Dark fruits, ripe tannins, depth and complexity of flavor, cellar potential—the works!
If you’ve taken a shine to our recent Bordeaux selections, but are seeking a Monday-to-Thursday option that doesn’t break the bank, we’ve got you covered. We cannot stress enough how rare it is to purchase Bordeaux directly from the property, so we’re hoping you take advantage of this unrivaled provenance.
These bottles hit our SoCal warehouse last week and we couldn’t be more excited to share them with you. This is the type of wine you order by the case, rather than the bottle, but we highly encourage you to try one for yourselves!
2019 Château d’Arce, Côte de Castillon
92 POINTS: JEB DUNNUCK - I continue to love this estate, which is run by the team of Hélène Garcin and Patrice Levêque, with consulting advice from Thomas Duclos. Deep purple/ruby-hued (it's almost opaque) with a deep, rich bouquet of red and blue fruits, candied violets, truffly earth, and forest floor, the 2019 Château D'Arce hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, a terrific sense of freshness, and ripe yet integrated and polished tannins. Drink this complex, pure, seamless Castillon over the coming 10-15 years.
92 POINTS: ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE - Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 D'Arce comes prancing out of the glass with lively notes of black raspberries, kirsch, wild blueberries and cracked black pepper with underlying hints of camphor, Chinese five spice and moss-covered tree bark. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers an electric intensity of crunchy black and blue fruits with a firm structure of rounded tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with an exhilarating lift.
91 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2019 d’Arce has a precocious bouquet of black cherries, cassis and light violet aromas, touches of espresso coming through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, very linear and focused, and much more saline than I noticed from barrel, leading to a persistent finish. Excellent.
