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Grégoire and Bénédicte Hubau do not come across as typical Bordeaux vignerons: owners of a modestly sized domaine and highly involved in the natural wine movement, the couple would seem more at home in the Loire Valley or Beaujolais. Yet one taste of this Fronsac—a pure Merlot from clay, limestone, and gravel soils—will confirm this is real Bordeaux, the way it ought to taste. The Hubaus work their vines organically, ferment with natural yeasts, and forgo fining and filtration: the opposite of many of today’s technologically produced Bordeaux. You’ll find deep, ripe, luscious Merlot fruit, a chewy texture, and tannins that are powerful yet silky all at once. The Hubaus’ wines suggests that long aging is not a problem: older bottles we’ve tried have been stunning, with a tender mouthfeel and a sublime bouquet hinting at cedar, leather, and black truffle.

Anthony Lynch


Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2010
Bottle Size: 750mL
Blend: Merlot
Appellation: Fronsac
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Producer: Château Haut-Lariveau
Winemaker: Bénédicte & Grégoire Hubau
Vineyard: 60 years avg., 7.92 ha
Soil: Clay, Limestone and Clay, Gravel
Aging: 12- to 18-month élevage in barriques, 25% new
Farming: Organic (practicing)
Alcohol: 13.5%

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About The Region

Bordeaux

map of Bordeaux

Often considered the wine capital of the world, Bordeaux and its wines have captured the minds, hearts, and wallets of wine drinkers for centuries. For many, the wines provide an inalienable benchmark against which all other wines are measured.

Bordeaux is divided into three winegrowing regions with the city that gives the region its name in the near geographical center. The “right bank,” or the area located east of the Dordogne River, produces wines that are predominantly Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The “left bank” is located to the west of the Garonne River and produces wines dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

The third region, Entre-Deux-Mers, lies between both rivers and produces white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle. Though technically in the left bank, it is worth noting the appellation of Sauternes, which produces arguably the world’s most famous sweet wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle as well.

Though many top Bordeaux wines are sold en primeur (in advance of their bottling) and often through a middleman known as a negoçiant, Kermit has always preferred to purchase directly from the winemaker. For more than three decades he has sought out small producers, who make classic Bordeaux wines and are willing to play outside the negoçiant system. This ethic has led to longstanding relationships, excellent prices, and perhaps most important—wines of great value and longevity.

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Kermit inspecting wine barrels

For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.