Château Poujeaux 2019 HALFJE

Brambled autumnal fruit on the nose, this is good stuff from a property that is consistently impressive. Not as fully powered or concentrated as its 2016, but as ever it offers a more serious and restrained take on the vintage than some of its Moulis siblings, and as such delivers wines that are built to last. Always extremely classic Left Bank in feel, and it achieves that feat again here. Plenty of tannin grip, clear austerity on the finish.

Drinking Window 2024 - 2036

Château Poujeaux is an estate located in the Moulis-en-Médoc sub-appellation within Haut-Médoc, on the left bank of the Gironde in Bordeaux. The château began producing wine in the 19th Century and, in 1921, was purchased by the Theil family. Being located in Haut-Medoc, Château Poujeaux favors Cabernet Sauvignon in the production of its three wines.

The grand vin is predominantly made from Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It has an estimated production of 300,000 bottles a year. Poujeaux has a second label called La Salle de Château Poujeaux, a red blend that varies by vintage and produces roughly 80,000 bottles annually. Finally, Poujeaux releases another red under the slightly broader Haut-Médoc designation called Haut de Poujeaux with 20,000 bottles produced annually.

In the now-defunct 2003 Cru Bourgeois classification, Château Poujeaux was awarded the status of Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel – the highest standing for a château from the Médoc not included in the 1855 Classification. In 2010, a heavily revised Cru Bourgeois label was re-introduced that did not establish a tiered system and, as a result, Château Poujeaux and five other houses that had been named Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel formed their own group called Les Exceptionnels outside of the new classification. The group's primary focus is in shared marketing.