Bordeaux with its collar unbuttoned. We rarely find wine from such a staid region with such a carefree attitude. This is a bottle for burgers with ironic names where the toppings fall out on your hands – I call these Panic Burgers. You want this wine with your favorite french fries – ideally cooked in duck fat. This is the bottle for when you “accidentally” buy a bunch of charcuterie at the store instead of dinner. Not to say this wine is a flash in the pan, there’s plenty of substance here too, thanks to the talents of winemaker Gonzague Maurice of Château de Grandchamps. This is mostly Merlot from the St Emilion area, and offers classic notes of blackcurrant, tilled earth, dark chocolate and vanilla bean mark the nose, and palate shows deep black cherry, currant, fresh raspberries and black dirt among gentle yet firm tannins. What makes this wine sing is how completely “correct” it is as a Bordeaux, yet it has a certain warmth and ease many of its cousins lack. This wine is very easy to drink.