Hidden Gems of Bordeaux: Clos des Lunes

I was debating whether to put this wine into my wine icon section but decided it simply has not been around for long enough to qualify, so for now it gets icon-in-waiting status and instead makes it into my hidden gems.

Why hidden? There are a few factors at play here. Firstly it is a white wine. In Burgundy red and whites share equal billing; in Bordeaux there is no such equilibrium. Red wine dominates Bordeaux’s production, accounting for about 90% of its vineyards, and equally it dominates people’s perception of the region. Its most famous white wines are the great sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, but it may surprise some that Château Margaux, Cos d’Estournel and Valandraud make a white wine, as do many of the great Château of Graves and Pessac-Léognan, including Haut-Brion and Domaine de Chevalier. But still they remain niche options in a sea of red.

Which all in all brings us rather neatly to Clos des Lunes. The estate is the brainchild of Olivier Bernard, owner of Domaine de Chevalier and one of the great characters of Bordeaux. Meeting him is like running into a Gallic force of nature, a raconteur without peer whose sentences often dissolve into a series of hand gestures, whistles, clicks and other (very French) noises that somehow come together to say so much more than just words can.

Behind that affable and charming persona is a razor-sharp mind that has forged Domaine de Chevalier into one of the most respected estates in Graves. That is made more remarkable when you consider he came into primacy of the estate at the age of 23. While the Bernard family has roots in the region that stretch back to 1155, their stewardship of Domaine de Chevalier began in 1983, and the young Olivier was immediately thrust into the heated cauldron of running a top Bordeaux estate.

He wasted no time, adding to the estate vineyard holdings and modernising the winery, and applying his wonderful, instinctive winemaking nous to elevate Domaine de Chevalier to the top of the Pessac-Léognan tree, where it remains to this day; always a hotly anticipated release during en primeur campaigns and with consistently excellent scores from the critics.

Domaine de Chevalier also make a white, as do many Graves producers, but almost uniquely in the region the white is considered the equal of the red, even surpassing it in certain years.

Sémillon Blanc grapes

Bordeaux Blanc: A Tale of Two Grapes

Let’s take a moment to talk about Bordeaux Blanc. The region’s whites are principally made from two varieties, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon Blanc, and are commonly oak aged. There is a third variety, Muscadelle, planted in much lower numbers and used in small proportions in the blend to add aromatic intensity with its grapey, floral characteristics but I want to talk about the first two, as there was a memorable moment with Olivier when he hosted us at another of his Graves properties, Domaine de la Solitude, when he led us into the vineyards to show us the vines.

He wanted us to study them carefully, to observe the physical differences between the two. Sémillon leaves are rounded, and its canopy droops down towards the earth. Sauvignon Blanc has more angular, jagged leaves and its vines climb upwards towards the sky. He expounded there amongst the wines in his own initimable way how those physical differences mirror the energies of each variety and the structure and flavours of the fruit they produce. It was truly eye-opening.

Sémillon is a rich, decadent grape; generous with notes of ripe peach and honey and a gentle acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is vibrant and energetic, containing tangy, intense notes of citrus and green fruit informed by a sharper acidity. On their own they both produce worthy wines, but when bought together they create this wonderful, contrasting synergy; a salt and pepper dichotomy combining to make them greater than the sum of their parts. The final part of this alchemy is the oak ageing; adding weight, structure and spiciness to the wines.

In short white Bordeaux can be wonderful, with compelling, heady aromatics, a concentrated, textural finesse, fascinating complexity and capable of serious ageing in the cellar. And, the top wines aside, at a serious discount to what you would expect to pay for an equivalent white Burgundy.

And so finally we come to the reason for that little diatribe, Olivier’s latest venture Clos des Lunes. And to add further intrigue his new estate is not in Graves, not in Pessac, not in the Médoc; it is in Sauternes.

Sauternes Re-Imagined

Sauternes is world famous for its sweet wines. It sits at the Southern end of Graves around the banks of two rivers, the Garonne and the Ciron. These are the magic makers in this highly specialised region, providing early morning mists that envelope the vines before disappearing towards midday as the sun hits its zenith, encouraging the development of botrytis, or ‘noble rot’. Botrytis thins the skin of the grape allowing moisture to evaporate, concentrating the remaining juice and its sugars and adding its own flavour profile.

But uniquely Olivier had very different plans when he bought Sauternes estate Château Haut Caplane in 2011. He was already involved in sweet wine production at neighbouring Château Guiraud, and Haut-Chaplane had other prominent neighbours in d’Arche and d’Yquem. Despite this proximity to famous names the estate produced a unremarkable sweet wine, but Olivier saw something that no-one else had; a magic in its terroir that could be harnessed to make world-class dry white wine.

Its hard not to overstate what a brave decision this was. By eschewing sweet wine production anything the estate makes cannot not be labelled as Sauternes, instead only classified as humble Bordeaux Blanc AOC (the second reason for its hidden gem status). Olivier’s vision was clear: he believes Sémillon has a natural affinity for the micro-terroirs of Sauternes, comparing it to the symbiotic relationship between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pauillac and Merlot to Pomerol. He took all that experience learnt from decades of making acclaimed Bordeaux Blanc at Domaine de Chevalier and applied it at Clos des Lunes and the result is remarkable.

A Unique Terroir Realised

The estate’s 45 hectares are planted with 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, with an average vine age of about 30 years. Its soils are a combination of coarse gravel and red clay, with clay-limestone subsoils. It has natural drainage thanks to sloping hillsides and an underground water network that ensure hydric balance. Olivier strongly believes that this terroir is one of the greatest in the world for dry white wine, and when it comes to wine Olivier is rarely wrong.

The vineyards are farmed organically and each micro-terroir is vinified separately to allow the varied nuances to express themselves. They produce three cuvées: the Lune d’Or is at the top, made in tiny quantities from just 20 of the best barrels in any given vintage, and sometimes not at all if they do not make the grade, and generally from the oldest vines. The Lune d’Argent is the estates signature wine, ‘La Grande Cuvée’. 25% is aged in French oak, the rest in stainless steel tanks on the lees for 6-7 months. The final wine is the Lune Blanche, an unoaked, early drinking wine from the younger vines.

It is the Lune d’Argent that is my hidden gem, although it is steadily becoming less hidden. It is a magnificent wine, incredibly well crafted with all of Olivier’s talent and experience sunk into it. Prices for this has been quietly rising but it is still available for well under £20 a bottle, which is a staggering bargain for the pedigree and poise this wine offers. Not to mention longevity: I can easily see good vintages of this lasting into their 30s. There is no hyperbole to claim that an equivalent white Burgundy would set you back two or three times the price.

From a young example expect an expressive perfume of spring blossom, white peach and tropical fruits while on the palate immense freshness allied to a ripe core of stone fruit, yellow citrus and guava, with delicate spicy notes and vanilla developing across the palate into the finish. As the wine ages expect nuttier, more complex characters to emerge, with a concentrated weighty texture and seductive, honeyed qualities bringing added intrigue. A wine to watch, it is now being offered en primeur by several merchants on release but there are landed versions available to buy for around £18 a bottle.

That is daylight robbery for the wine you are getting and certainly has everything to do with the newness of the estates and its humble Bordeaux classification. It is not a situation I expect to last forever. Buy now and lay it down for as long as your patience holds.

Written by A James Cole