Château La Garde
Château La Garde is a medium-sized property with 47 hectares of vineyards in Pessac-Léognan, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. The Cabernet-dominated red wines are soft, well structured and packed with smooth, ripe fruit which makes them very attractive young, though they also possess good medium-term cellaring potential. Bought by the dynamic Bordeaux merchant Dourthe in the 1980s, this gem of an estate displays the true Graves minerality underneath an exuberant cassis-and-plums aroma. After huge initial investment in the vineyard and cellar immense care is now lavished upon the wine itself, and any re-assessment of the Pessac-Léognan classification would surely see this wine elevated to Cru Classé status