Biodynamic. Peybonhomme’s sister vineyard, Château La Grolet, lies just to the to the south in the Côtes de Bourg. The cooler, gravel-rich terroir makes for a more firmly structured, darker red than this wine’s sibling, although there is always just as much class and value. The blend is 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. The vines are approaching their half century, and crop at 25 hl/ha—similar to the low yields of some of Bordeaux’s most expensive vins de garage! This fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete vessels. It was bottled without fining or filtration, and with only a little sulphur (the wine saw no other additions). 

The 2021 Château La Grolet is another outstanding success. It’s a medium-bodied, savoury Bordeaux with mulberry and cherry fruit, inky, powdery tannins and a long, driven close. Although it’s clear that 5-10 years will not weary it, it’s a very good drink now. It will match beautifully with any beef or lamb dish—steak frites, please! In short, this is a super-authentic Bordeaux country-style red that represents wonderful value.

Biodynamic. Half bottle. This classic estate wine is a blend of 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Malbec. The fruit was grown on Peybonhomme’s limestone and clay soils of the Premières Côtes de Blaye (on the right bank, overlooking the picturesque Gironde estuary). The wine fermented with indigenous yeasts and then matured mostly in concrete, with 10% fermented and aged in two- to three-year-old oak. The wine was bottled unfiltered. 

From a year of great balance—and one that had Bordeaux's upper classes rubbing their hands in glee—2019 is a delicious, vivid release of this wine. Look out for deep, opulent blackcurrant fruit and charred meat, all draped over a backdrop of leather, five spice, cigar box and a lovely mineral complexity. There are good ripe tannins too, but it is already immensely drinkable. This will match beautifully with anything you could think of pairing with traditional Bordeaux. We prefer lamb chops.

From a year of exceptional balance—and one that had Bordeaux's upper classes rubbing their hands—the 2019 is a delicious, vivid release of this wine. Look out for deep and opulent blackcurrant fruit and charred meat, all draped over a backdrop of leather, spice and graphite and a lovely mineral complexity. There are good ripe tannins too, but it is already immensely drinkable. This will match beautifully with anything you could think of pairing with traditional Bordeaux (we prefer lamb chops). As always, crazy value.

Biodynamic. This delicious and racy white comprises 45% Sémillon, 45% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Colombard, drawn from a two-hectare, biodynamic vineyard close to the banks of the Gironde River. Guillaume Hubert's grounded, vineyard-focused approach results in a vibrant, unworked and racy white whose crunchy freshness and juicy texture reflect its limestone soils more transparently than anything we have come to expect of white Bordeaux. 

The grapes are handpicked, manually sorted and undergo a 24-hour carbonic period before being pressed into a mixture of concrete vats and oak barrels. Here the wines complete their fermentation, carried out by indigenous yeasts only. In other words, it's a mould-breaking white Bordeaux, and just to be sure no one misses the point, the family releases it in a Burgundy-shaped bottle. Vibrating with the year’s stony freshness, it's a crunchy, racy white with mouth-watering lemon pith, fresh herbs and white floral notes, closing with silky grace and gentle phenolic bite. If you have a stereotype of old-school white Bordeaux in your mind, this earth-to-glass prototype is the wine to change your mind, as it did ours. Incidentally the wine’s name, Bonhomme, has the same root as bonhomie, French for exuberant friendliness. Fitting, really.

Biodynamic. L’Atypic is drawn from Peybonhomme’s biodynamically certified, limestone and clay soils in the Premières Côtes de Blaye. The vines that produce this cuvée are now 40 years old. As the name suggests, it's an ‘atypical’ co-fermented blend of 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet Franc—meaning the wine has to carry the Vin de France designation. But who cares? It’s a stunning example of Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux: blending regulations be damned!

Fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised entirely in concrete, it’s an intense, ripe, dark cherry and spice-noted wine with a twist of dried herb and elegant tannins. There is excellent depth and intensity and mouth-watering freshness to close. With fabulous purity of fruit and superb drinkability, it’s another killer-value red from the Hubert family.

Talk about atypic! This is superb—an intense, ripe, dark cherry and spice-noted wine with a twist of dried herb and super-fine tannins. There is excellent depth and intensity and mouth-watering freshness to close. This has fabulous purity of fruit and is incredibly easy to drink. Yet another killer value from the Hubert family.

Biodynamic. This classic estate wine is a blend of 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Malbec. The fruit was all drawn from Peybonhomme’s limestone and clay soils in the Premières Côtes de Blaye (on the right bank overlooking the picturesque Gironde estuary). The wine was fermented using wild yeast and then exclusively in concrete. The wine was bottled unfiltered.

From a low yielding year of exceptional balance, the 2020 is a typically delicious, vivid release of this wine. Look out for deep and opulent blackcurrant fruit and charred meat, all draped over a backdrop of leather, spice and graphite and a lovely mineral complexity. There are good ripe tannins too, but it is already immensely drinkable. This will match beautifully with anything you could think of pairing with traditional Bordeaux (we prefer lamb chops). As always, crazy value.