Everyone thinks my job is easy. Taste wine all day and write about it. Sorry to destroy your fantasies, not that you would have fantasies about me, because that would be just weird, but sometimes finding information about these wines is more difficult than one would think. Take Chateau Real, for instance, a Haut Medoc we tasted in a large flight from one of our Bordeaux Negociants. As you know, negociants are integral partners to us for Bordeaux, purchasing classified wines and finding lesser appellation Bordeaux wines, of which there are over 9,000 different wines every vintage. That may seem like a lot, but consider that Bordeaux wines are 1.5% of the entire world's wine production and responsible for 15% of France's wine output. 

Although we sometimes are obsessed with the famous and highly sought-after bottles from the top chateaux that command all the press and attention, 71% of Bordeaux wine sells between 3 and 15 Euros per bottle. ($3.50 to $16.50 on today's exchange). With normal Bordeaux production of 900 million bottles, we need to take Bordeaux production off its pedestal and accept it for the big business that it is, and that is why we at Yankee Spirits rely on negociants, like Dubos Frères & Cie to introduce us to great wines at bargain prices, such as Chateau Real from the Haut Medoc. So here is the good and the bad. We all loved this wine, and the price is right; the bad is there is very little information on this wine. So, after hours of research, I've pieced together enough information that I think you will find it an interesting story.

The roots of Château Réal go back to around 1800, designed by one of Napoleon's high-ranking soldiers, Monsieur Réal, who had this beautiful mansion built to seduce a lady! Unfortunately, the woman in question never set foot inside. Money isn't everything, after all. He sold it thirty years later to the Tronquoy family (from Tronquoy-Lalande in Saint-Estèphe), who were attracted by the quality of the region's terroir and planted vines there: the mansion became Château Réal and was in the family for 220 years. Chateau Real is the last Chateau belonging to the Tronquoy family, former owners of Châteaux Montrose and Tronquoy Lalande, under the guidance of technical Director Bernard Franc.

The building of Chateau Real had fallen in a bit of disrepair, and it was recently acquired by Kelly and Elian, who moved in with their 6-month-old son in January 2020. They refurbished the Chateau, Elian oversaw the demolition, and Kelly took care of their son while drawing up plans and handling orders for material. Today, Chateau Real is a 5 room Inn, complete with a restaurant and pool. The seven acres of attached vineyards of the Chateau are separately owned. They are under the guidance of Didier Marcelis, the owner of Château Serilhan, and the grapes are vinified by Hubert De Boüard, the current owner of Château Angélus. What we have is excellent quality grapes made at a top-notch winery by a superstar winemaker, and with 7 acres of vines, production is a little over 1,000 cases. 

Due to its small production, distribution for Chateau Real, historically, has been primarily through one Bordeaux wine shop, La Vinothèque, which opened its doors in 1973; it is the oldest and largest retail shop in the heart of Bordeaux. Located in the same block as the Grand Théâtre, the Interprofessional Bordeaux Wine Council, the Grand Hôtel, and the Tourist Office, it has become the top wine merchant of the Bordeaux with sales worldwide. In 2007, the Dubos Frères & Cie house, one of the pillars of Bordeaux wine trading, acquired the Vinothèque de Bordeaux and was instrumental in growing the online sales activity. As I mentioned earlier, Dubos is one of the negociants we use for Bordeaux wines and introduced us to the last 100 cases they had of Chateau Real 2018, which we happily bought.

Château Réal covers five hectares in the village of Saint-Seurin de Cadourne. This wine offers up aromas of red and black fruit, vanilla and spices on the nose, followed by a beautiful balance with blackcurrant and blackberry flavors on the palate. The tannins are powerful, with a finish suggesting leather and liquorice notes.

Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 40%, Cabernet Franc 10%. 

The average age of all these vines is 35 years, and the planting density is 7,500 vines per hectare.

Vinification: Sorting table. Steel tanks. Vatting for 25 to 30 days. Cold maceration for 4 days. Pneumatic pressing.

Aging: 18 months in barrel

Chateau Real, Haut Medoc 2018

When we tried this wine again, it drew quite the crowd in that we remembered how good it was when we first tried it. We were mistaken; the wine seemed to have gotten better. Color was a dark, black, vibrant hue. The aromas were compact when we opened the bottle: black fruit and some wood vanilla. In the mouth, we found dark, brooding fruit, plum, cassis, coffee bean, and a meaty pork belly component. The finish was a dark, bitter cherry that seemed to go on forever. After 30 minutes, the wine unfolded, the bouquet opened to riper fruit, and the body of the wine filled out with complexities. It was evident to us that this wine was worth three times the price, and with our employee discounts, everyone was grabbing cases. I've always believed everyone needs a case of good wine that is not price-obvious to hand out as gifts for the upcoming holidays. This is a wine that will be enjoyed by all, a wine that you will be proud to give away or hoard for yourself—bows sold separately.

Regular Price: $19.99

*Sale Price is on 12 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.

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