A common question we get in regard to Bordeaux wines is, ‘Do we sell futures?’. Or ‘do we have Bordeaux future offers?’ The quick answer is yes, but it is a slightly more convoluted answer than that. Let me try to explain. 

Bordeaux Future wines are sold every year through the “en primeur” system, where top producers sell a percentage of the most recent harvest while still maturing in the barrel at the château well before it is bottled. Purchasing en primeur offers the opportunity to acquire the top wines of Bordeaux directly from the Chateau at tremendous savings. Due to the estates offering the wine at a lesser price to get advanced cash (First Tranche), our negociant takes a minimal administrative fee, we pay for the shipping, and we offer a substantially less than usual markup so that our end prices are much less than buying through a local distributor on the open market. 

We are beginning our 2023 Bordeaux Futures campaign, and for the next eight weeks, our Director of Wine will be locked to his computer as individual releases come in from the negociants we deal with year after year. He then sends a weekly email to subscribers with the offers that had come in that week. We take orders at 6 bottles minimum per wine, get confirmations, and collect final payment once the campaign ends. This is a long way of saying that we do sell Bordeaux futures, but you need to be on that list to get the emails on the wines we offer. In about eight weeks, the 2023 campaign will be over, and you can only buy the 2023 once it arrives at our warehouse, two to three years after the vintage. If you have ever considered buying Bordeaux wines on a wine futures program, now is the time to act by responding to Tim Korby by email at TKorby@YankeeSpirits.com, saying add me to the Bordeaux Futures list. Do not ask to be added after two months because all the wines will have been reserved, and the 2023 Bordeaux Futures campaign will be over. The good part is once you are on this email list, you will automatically be on next year’s list. This segues us very nicely to an exceptional white Bordeaux that I think you will find interesting.

Château de Cruzeau is located in the commune of Saint-Médard-d’Eyrans in Pessac-Léognan in the French region of  Graves and was founded in the 17th century by the lawyer Jacques de Cruzeau. The castle was built in 1912. After a chequered history with several changes of ownership, in 1973, in the aftermath of a storm, André Lurton discovered this property and took a walk around the property. The storm was more like a mini tornado, and he found that the roots of the uprooted trees were studded with pebbles, indicating an extraordinary gravelly terroir with all the qualities required to produce a great wine. He immediately bought the estate, whose vineyards had all but disappeared since the end of the 19th century under the repeated assaults of disease. From 1975 onwards, André Lurton and his teams concentrated on restoring the Château de Cruzeau to its former glory. Clearing, renovating, restoring, clearing, planting, and replanting.

Today, the vineyards cover 240 acres of south-facing gravel soils, of which 170 acres are planted with the red wine varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, and 67 acres with Sauvignon Blanc. Chateau Cruzeau’s rigorous white winemaking methods include whole-grape pressing, slow temperature-controlled fermentation, 10 months of barrel aging, one-third of new barrels, aged on its lees, and using bâtonnage to obtain volume on the palate. Resulting in a rich, complex nose, with lovely notes of white fruit and citrus, freshness, and roundness on the palate: characteristics that contribute to the charm and elegance of these white wines. This is a serious white wine.

2020 was marked by very mild temperatures and contrasting precipitation: heavy spring rainfall was followed by an intense summer drought. The fairly mild winter led to early bud break. The summer heat gave way to cool nights in late August, ideal for ripening grapes.

Clear, brilliant color, with a nice pale yellow hue and some silver highlights. The nose is expressive, fresh, very aromatic, marked by notes of white fruit (peach, nectarine, pear); all slightly lemony and associated with a very discreet woodiness. The attack is supple. On the palate, it is a wine with a nice structure, a good balance, freshness and fatness. Notes of white fruit, but also of citrus (lemon) dominate the palate. The oak is well integrated. This Château de Cruzeau 2020 is an elegant wine.

This has long been one of my ‘insider picks’ for the whites of Bordeaux and it is successful again this year, although a little more concentrated than in some years, with bitter almond hints on the finish. Majors on sculpted fruits and gentle citrus flavors. Decanter 92 pts

The 2020 Chateau de Cruzeau Blanc has a very attractive nose with honeysuckle, peach skin, and pear scents that are nicely defined. The palate is well balanced with commendable weight matched by a keen thread of acidity. I admire the manner in which this just seems to fill the mouth, and there is excellent persistence on the finish. Recommended Vinous 91 pts.

Opening with alluring notions of spiced apples, fresh nectarines and guava, the 2020 Cruzeau Blanc has an undercurrent of beeswax and musk perfume. The medium-bodied palate bursts with peachy and tropical fruit layers, lifted by a racy backbone and finishing with a zesty kick. Wine Advocate 89-91 pts

A tight, linear white with sliced-apple, lemon and crushed-stone character. Curated and precise texture. Long and intense. James Suckling 93 pts

One of the many Pessac-Léognan properties owned by Andre Lurton, Cruzeau has a long history dating back to the 18th century. This 2000 vintage, now totally mature, has great vanilla flavors that balance well with the intense grapefruit flavors and toasty aromas. Wine Enthusiast 90 pts

Chateau De Cruzeau Blanc 2020  

Due to lack of time, I just wanted to sneak down and try this wine with Tim G. The rest of the wine geeks were tasting wine in the kitchen with a salesperson, so I thought I would just pop the cork at Tim’s desk, try the wine, write down some observations and be done with it. Apparently, our wine staff has a keen sense for good wine because, one at a time, they snuck out of the kitchen with their wine glass in hand, looking to try this wine. Pretty soon, we had a gaggle all surrounding Tim’s desk, oohing and awing over this wine. Clear, brilliant color, and some silver highlights. The aromas of this wine can only be described as a basket of white peaches with some apricots and guava. In the mouth, the wine showed good weight balanced by expressive acidity but not sharp. Flavors of peach, nectarines, other stone fruit, fresh asparagus, wet stone, a hint of lime, and pastry crust. The oak is well integrated with good length in the finish. The adjective that came up over and over was 'delicious'. As you can tell, this wine was a big hit with our wine staff, management, and salespeople. If you like Sauvignon Blanc, you owe it to yourself to buy this wine; you won’t be disappointed.

Regular Price: $29.99

*Sale Price is on 6 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Let me know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, I will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.

Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.

I will confirm your order via email when it is ready for pickup. Please give us at least 48 hours to respond.

Cheers!

—John Hannum, Fine & Rare Wine Specialist

Attleboro

628 Washington St.

Norwood

942 Providence Hgwy.

Sturbridge

376 Main Street.

Swansea

207 Swansea Mall Dr.

Monday-Saturday

9AM to 9PM