CHÂTEAU LA GARDE
2019 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
Silky with sweet fruit and supple balance. There's an elegant lightness, but it's not lacking follow-through and the length is lovely - complete.L&S (Jun 2020)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2019 La Garde comes across rather oaky on the nose, occluding the terroir expression and freshness. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine grip, just a little chewy and forced towards the finish. Doesn't need to try this hard. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2024 - 2034 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2019 La Garde is a bold, punchy wine. Wild red cherry, game, licorice, tobacco, incense and gravel give the 2019 its distinctive flavor profile. This tasty red Graves will drink beautifully at the dinner table. It certainly has a ton to offer. Drinking range: 2024 - 2039 Rating: 91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 La Garde offers attractive red currant, wild strawberry, gravel and cedar scents on the intense nose. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and quite sturdy for this cru, displaying fine depth and impressive backbone on the finish. Very promising. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
Vibrant purple colour, savoury berry fruits, balanced and elegant, tannins a little angular on the finish but this has finesse and is good quality. An always reliable name from Vignobles Dourthe that offers Pessac-Léognan signature without needed to cellar. 33% new oak for ageing. Harvest September 24 to October 9. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 la Garde offers up a good intensity of bright, youthful red and black cherries scents with touches of warm plums, cassis and fragrant earth with a waft of pencil lead. Medium-bodied, the palate is pleasantly chewy with just enough pure, clean black fruit and a refreshing finish. Rating: 87-89 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jun 2020)
The 2019 La Garde, part of négociant Dourthe’s portfolio, has a lifted bouquet with floral iris and violet scents rendering this a more expressive La Garde than recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, well judged acidity, slightly savory towards the finish that would benefit from a little more length. Otherwise this is a thoroughly enjoyable Pessac-Léognan. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
A beautifully balanced young red with currant, chocolate and hazelnut aromas and flavors. Medium to full body, juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2020)
Blend: 52% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon. Attractive deep purple-red in colour. Fresh blackberries jostle with hints of spice and liquorice on the complex bouquet. Smooth on the attack, generous and rich on the palate, the wine is underpinned by delicate, silky and velvety tannins. Offering attractive balanced fruit and mouthfeel, the wine culminates in a lengthy, complex finish, with a lingering sense of freshness tinged with liquorice. - Frédéric Bonnaffous, Vignobles Dourthe Director Winemaker's notes (Apr 2020)
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
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.