55.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41.3% Merlot, 2.8% Cabernet Franc

Food pairings: Beef fillet or ribeye, rack of lamb, venison and game, beef bourguignon, mushroom risotto, and Comté or aged Gouda.

Winemaking: The 2019 was picked by hand in several passes: Merlot from September 17 to 30, Cabernet Sauvignon from October 1 to 11 and Cabernet Franc on October 2 and 3. After double sorting, it fermented for 21 to 23 days in temperature-controlled steel and oak vats. It was blended early and aged for 18 months on its fine lees in barrels, 65% new. 2019 was Eric Boissenot's first vintage as consultant.

Vineyards and terroir: The vines grow on well-drained Quaternary Günzian gravels and clay-gravels over a subsoil of shelly limestone and clay. The estate has held HVE level 3 environmental certification since 2015 and works its vineyard agroecologically.

Family: Alfred-Alexandre and Michèle Bonnie bought Malartic-Lagravière in 1997 after a two-year search and undertook an ambitious renovation, including a gravity-fed vat room built that year. Their children Jean-Jacques and Véronique now run the family's properties.

In the pictures: An engraving of Château Malartic-Lagravière from the 1898 edition of Cocks & Féret's "Bordeaux et ses vins" (Eugène Vergez, CC0).