2021 Vignobles Pueyo “La Fleur Garderose” Red Bordeaux, France.
The La Fleur Garderose is quite serious stuff for the price with this 2021 a dark purple/garnet in the glass and full bodied on the palate, showing off blackberry, currant, plum and black cherry fruits, along with hints of stony/loamy earth, green spice, cigar box and anise accents. Though 2021 was a less concentrated vintage, this wine proved nicely ripe and complex, making it impressive for the price and delicious with food. The Pueyo family, who own this label, works close to three hectares of vineyards on the outskirts of the historic Saint-Émilion in the village Julliac to produce La Fleur Garderose. The vineyards here, and the wine, are a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, which shows up on the palate with that hint of bell pepper, almost like some fine Anjou (Loire Valley) offerings. The elevage for the La Fleur Garderobe Bordeaux Rouge is done entirely in cement tanks and then bottled after one year, to promote this fine transparency and raw, non pretense nature, all of which appeals to me.
The “La Fleur Garderose” label, which was new to me, is a Bordeaux is a wine produced by Vignobles Pueyo, and known for its red Bordeaux, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as wells a a dry white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Rosenthal Wine Merchant imports some very intriguing Bordeaux wines and Vignobles Pueyo looks to be a great find for value, and I look forward to trying a few more vintages, it would be interesting to see how a riper year shows in this La Fleur Garderose, so I’ll look around for the 2020 and see what the upcoming 2022 are like. The terroir here is “Right Bank” with mostly clay and some limestone, which is favored for these Merlot based wines, allowing for a deeper ripe richness in the grapes, and in this case no wood aging is needed to soften tannins. This wine will please and is best served with meaty dishes, though was pretty tasty with a selection of hard cheeses and would be a fun entry level Bordeaux to show off to wine friends that are not familiar with the region. I would recommend this wine for Bistro by the glass pours and would be very happy myself to see this by the glass at my own favorite places, especially as a Fall/Winter option, with the seasonal fare.
($25 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive