Château Bel-Air Marquis d’Aligre is emblematic of old-school Bordeaux. A far cry from the region’s increasingly identikit, modern style, these wines offer a taste of a bygone era.
Jean-Pierre Boyer farms 5ha of traditional Bordeaux varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec – in Vire-Fougasse, two kilometres west of the village of Margaux. These meticulously farmed, low-yielding vines preserve some of the appellation’s oldest parcels, as well as ancient strains and forgotten varieties.
Finding contemporary Bordeaux to be showy and superficial, Jean-Pierre has proudly stuck to his artisanal approach to produce gloriously fragrant and exceptionally long-lived wines. With pure fruit and complex tertiary notes, these are some of the ultimate expressions of unadulterated Left Bank terroir.
Jean-Pierre eschews the en primeur market, preferring to hold back bottles in his own cellar until they are ready to drink. As such, the château has been a reliable source of well-priced, mature wine to those in the know.
With Bordeaux’s increasingly uncompromising prices and corporate affectations, Bel-Air Marquis d’Aligre represents one of the last of its kind – Margaux as it should be.
