Château La Garde Rouge

Solid and structured with good volume and length, showing notes of dark fruit and walnuts. Medium-bodied with compact, velvety tannins. The finish is firm and even.

Dark purple colour with violet hue and almost black core. Expressive nose reminiscent blackberries, plums and mild spices, vanilla and pencil shavings. On the palate well balanced with juicy fruit, ripe tannins, freshness and elegant spiciness, very good length.

Garnet colour, purple reflections. Aromas of fine oak, dark berries, fresh cherries, a mineral touch, floral, some orange zest. Medium complexity, cherries, integrated tannins, lively, lingers long, a versatile wine for the table.

The 2023 La Garde has a lifted bouquet that is nicely defined, with plenty of blackberry and bilberry fruit and subtle loamy scents percolating through. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, good body and ample structure, but it delivers more fruit than some of its peers. La Garde has been an improving estate in recent years, and this is another fine wine to add to that roster.

The 2023 La Garde is the first wine made in the new cellar, part of a strategy that includes a focus on Cabernet Sauvignon on blocks planted on gravel, and a reduction of the Grand Vin by 50%. Deep and imposing in feel, the 2023 offers up a mélange of dark-toned fruit, leather, incense, licorice and scorched earth. The tannins are a bit imposing at this stage.

Lots of vineyard restructing work going on here, following terroir studies. Delivers the confident Pessac Léognan swirl of smoky oak, well balalnced, enjoyable and easy drinking but high quality wine, lip smacking, excellent bright blueberry fruits with grilled oak. Dourthe Vignobles. Axel Marchal and Chrstophe Ollivier consultants as of the 2023 vintage (they began in 2022 but not across the reds) - half the usual production of 1st wine, as selelction becomes more drastic. Great value, a buy.

A step change for La Garde this year with a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. Floral and fragrant, really alive on the nose, expressive and so energetic. Fruit forward and lively, I love the finesse and the construction, really well made, layered with lots of minerality, crunchy red fruits, great acidity and focus on the crushed stones, graphite and pencil led. It has a smooth body, with a grip to the tannins but lots of focus and definition to the elements. Quite a serious take but all harmonious, nothing sticking out with plenty of underlying power. Polished and accomplished. A top value pick and exciting project to follow. Axel Marchal consultant.

Ici aussi, le changement de style est encore plus radical qu’à Belgrave. Une vinification et une sélection parcellaire plus précises ont métamorphosé les arômes et le tannin.

The precise terroir division, stricter grand vin selection, and purer Cabernet Sauvignon at Château La Garde manifest the true character of a Grand Cru. Pessac-Léognan faced frequent stormy weather in 2023, with many estates grappling with severe downy mildew pressure. However, Château La Garde, through persistence and focus, delivered a smooth texture, clear fruit aromas, and silky tannin structure. If the new cellar in 2022 signaled a fresh direction for Château La Garde, then the 2023 vintage marks its historic moment into the family of Grand Cru.

Svelte and soft on the attack, lithe and quite succulent but with good Pessac terroir-typicity. Saline, liquorice, a dark meatiness, a hint of oak smoke and a generous but never dominating spiciness. Plenty of white pepper too. Lovely and on a sustained upward trajectory now.

Très précis, La Garde se révèle de manière subtile au travers d'invitantes nuances fruitées, respectivement de rafraîchissantes notes de baies rouges et de réglisse. Le vin a de la densité, des tannins veloutés mais aussi de la vivacité et de la puissance. Un vin éclatant, précis et vif qui répond de plus en plus aux ambitions et au travail méticuleux des équipes de La Garde ! Belle réussite.

Elegant black fruit aromas with some liquorice and cassis. Not much oak to scent at this stage. Rich palate-coating sweet black fruit flavours with black raspberry and sweet spices. Juicy acidity. Long fresh finish. Very good

The shift to Cabernet Sauvignon continues apace, the gentle gravel slopes behind Martillac well suited to show off the full potential here, its progress perhaps slowed by the fact that it does not, for mainly historical reasons, enjoy cru classé status. The investment by Dourthe and the vision of consultant Axel Marchal are starting to impress, however. [...] With its August tris for the white and mid-October picking for the last of the reds, La Garde rehearses in miniature the seasonal dance, which is patient, measured, and dignified.

Mystérieux et sombre, le nez dévoile par petites touches des arômes sensuels de fruit, de réglisse, de cuir et de cassis avant d'évoluer vers la forêt noire. La matière est plus lumineuse avec des tanins doux et veloutés, des notes de fruits noirs et de violette. La fraicheur et la délicate amertume apportent de l'énergie avant une finale chocolatée et gourmande.