CHÂTEAU LE BOSCQ

2019 Saint Estèphe

EN PRIMEUR

Very dark fruit on the nose, with an oaky spice. Dry and taut - the Saint Estèphe character comes through all right - graphite, pencil box and mineral. Needs five years. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038L&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 Le Boscq has an understated bouquet with blackberry and light bilberry scents, nicely defined with well-integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with brambly red fruit, grainy in texture, attenuating slightly towards the finish. Probably earlier-drinking than its peers. I suspect this might be closing down as it is well under my evaluation post-bottling. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2024 - 2033 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

The 2019 Le Boscq is fabulous. A rush of wild cherry, smoke, licorice, tobacco, incense and scorched earth races across the palate. This deep, flavorful Saint-Estèphe is wonderfully expressive today. I would give the tannins a few years to soften. Le Boscq is a great choice for readers who want to explore the appellation without splurging on some of the bigger names. Drinking range: 2024 - 2039 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)

Th 2019 Le Boscq has an intense bouquet of dark berry fruit, meat juice, wild mint and juniper berries. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and ripe, with supple tannins, fine structure and a fresh, nicely proportioned finish that demonstrates some well-integrated oak. Very fine. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)

Fruit forward, black cherry and cassis fruits, bristling tannins, and fairly high acidities. This is good quality, and wants to be taken seriously. Plenty of St Estèphe character, this is an excellent wine from Vignobles Dourthe. 37% new oak, harvest September 23 to October 9. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)

Composed of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 le Boscq sports a deep purple-black color and expressive notes of baked black cherries, warm cassis and blackberry preserves with touches of pencil lead, bouquet garni, cast-iron pan and woodsmoke. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers a good intensity of crunchy black fruits with a sturdy frame of grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with a compelling herbal lift. Rating: 90-92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jun 2020)

The 2019 Le Boscq has a splendid bouquet with blackberry, bilberry and light estuarine scents, as if they captured a whiff of the Gironde in the bottle. Good definition too. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit, a little oaky on the entry though it seems better integrated towards the smooth finish, with a mouth-coating graphite aftertaste. Good potential. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)

Wow. This is a top young red with a very deep, rich palate of blueberry, chocolate and spice character. It’s full-bodied, yet so polished with intertwined tannins that give a creamy texture to the wine. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2020)

Blend: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Wonderfully deep in colour, tinged with glints of purple.The wine is complex on the nose, combining the intensity of ripe fruits with notes of gentle spice, precious woods and tobacco. Initially soft on the palate, the wine gains in concentration, full-bodied and long, with bold, powerful tannins. A wealth of rich flavours is present throughout, culminating in notes of black berry fruit and spice. Typical Saint-Estephe. Frédéric Bonnaffous, Vignobles Dourthe Director

To validate and formalise our environmentally-conscious practice of sustainable viticulture, we set our sights on achieving Terra Vitis certification for all our Vignobles Dourthe, including Château Le Boscq, the scheme we believe to be the most true to our values. In addition, in 2018 we were awarded HVE level 3 certification (High Environmental Value), the most stringent level of certification.
Winemaker's notes (Apr 2020)

Château le Boscq sits at the far northern end of Saint Estèphe with it’s fine late 19th Century mansion commanding fine views over the River Gironde, and the southern portions of the vineyard gazing across the Chenal de Calon at Calon-Ségur. Unusually for this part of the Haut-Médoc, the majority of Le Boscq’s vineyard – 60% - is planted with Merlot which accounts for a rounder fleshier style to the wine.

Of note, historically, is that the Barton family owned Château le Boscq before they moved south to Léoville and Langoa in Saint Julien. Since 1995, le Boscq has been in the ownership of Bordeaux négociant and merchant Dourthe.

It was classified ‘Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel’, in the 2020 Cru Bourgeois Classification for Médoc wines. The property has already been awarded HVE level 3 (High Environmental Value), and is working toward organic certification.

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 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. 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 2025. 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.