Château La Garde Rouge

Beautiful fruit here, ripe but fresh and crunchy, with violets and crushed stones. Medium-to-full bodied, layered and refined. Lingering, velvety mouthfeel to the tannins.

The 2022 La Garde has an elegant and fresh bouquet with aromas of cassis, blueberry, raspberry, spices and violet. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is round and seamless with velvety tannins, a concentrated texture and a long and penetrating finish with hints of oak and a firm, tannic sensation. It's a blend of 63% Merlot and 37% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Gorgeous blue fruits, cola, vanilla and blackcurrants on the nose. Sleek and fruity, a silky smooth texture initially before the crushed stone, liquorice and blueberry tannins come into play covering the entire mouth in a fine layer of chalk and powder. The fruit loses some push but the acidity is there giving life and freshness and the structure is clearly imposing, giving an impressive form overall. Lovely mineralit on the finish. Aged 12 months in oak barrels, 37% new, 6 batches in amphora. Harvest 8 September - 28 September. HVE certified.

The 2022 La Garde opens with a burst of dark fruit, gravel, incense, tobacco, licorice, dried herbs and menthol. Even with all of its intensity, La Garde has a feeling of transparency that is impossible to miss.

The 2022 La Garde demands some coaxing from the glass: blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, pressed iris flower and light dark chocolate notes. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, leaning slightly more toward the herbaceous style of 2022, but with freshness and vitality throughout. Fine.

A big year at La Garde, with new cellar, new label and new consultant in Professor Axel Marchal. Captures a charming freshness and nuanced fruit style that is not easy in the vintage. Slate texture, with ripe berry fruits and a kick of lemongrass, sage and white pepper on the finish, along with smoked sandalwood spice. Reduced percentage of first wine from 60% to 40%.

Nez raffiné et pur, notes de fruits noirs et de fumée, texture soyeuse avec du gras et un bel équilibre.

La droiture : telle est la signature de La Garde et de son très beau terroir de graves. Le nez s’exprime sur de la confiture de myrtilles et on trouvera l’ensemble bien équilibré, entre une jolie texture sur des tanins précis, une bonne acidité et des saveurs de cassis dominantes. À attendre un peu.

This is a punchy, exotically scented wine with a fair amount of oak impact and a lovely long, savoury finish.  The fruit is on the red/black spectrum, with plenty of blueberry and spice.  It is expressive, bearing in mind its Graves location, and it is clear that winemaker Frederic Bonnaffous has kept his head while others have panicked and made a fabulous La Garde. 

Beaucoup de fraîcheur, de griottes et de pivoines. En bouche le vin est dense, crémeux et tonique. Il dispose de tannins précis, charnus en phase avec la tension de la structure acide. Un vin de caractère qui a gagné en définition et en précision… mais n'oublions pas qu'il était déjà très bien avant !

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Einladende rote Kirschfrucht, zart nach Tabak und Velours, ein Hauch von Orangenzesten. Komplex, saftig, gute Extraktsüße und Frische, mineralisch und anhaftend, gute Balance, Nugat im Nachhall.

Compared to its usual rich style, Château La Garde 2022 expresses a more gentle structure and clearer fruit notes. A gentle swirl of the glass reveals the dewy peony petals, tender strawberries, and a subtle aniseed freshness. In the 2022 vintage, Château La Garde reduced the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon from 60% to 40%, and with the new wine cellar in use, the future is promising for this estate.

Dark purple colour hue and black core. Elegant nose with aroma reminiscent of dark berries and hints of pencil shavings. On the palate well-balanced with juicy fruit, fine floral hints, ripe tannins, freshness and elegant minerality. Very good length.

Smokey. A little tobacco. Mocha and expresso beans. Damson, mulberry and lovely deep, dark rich and crunchy berry fruit; a little black cherry too. Naturally sweet and well-focused, the fine-grain tannins reinforcing the sense of both interest and freshness. Very good in this vintage and exceeding myexpectations.

Figurant déjà sur la carte de France des vignobles établie par Cassini en 1756, le Clos Lagarde est devenu le château La Garde lors du rachat par Dourthe en 1990. Bénéficiant des soins d'une des meilleures équipes de Bordeaux, le vin a commencé par se « muscler » pour apporter de la densité. Changement de régime radical avec le millésime 2022 : le vin est certes moins compact qu'autrefois, mais il a beaucoup gagné en élégance avec davantage de classe et des tannins fins. Bien joué !