From the Portfolio of Neal Rosenthal, Château des Graviers 2020
There’s a reason I look forward to the new arrivals from Neal Rosenthal’s portfolio each year. His selections are not about flash or fashion, but about integrity. These are wines made by real people who farm their own vines, work their own cellars, and bottle wines that speak clearly of where they come from. Among the finest examples of this philosophy in Bordeaux is Château des Graviers, a small, family-run estate in Margaux that delivers authenticity and pleasure in equal measure.
While the prices of classified growths have long since departed from reality, Château des Graviers remains grounded, both literally and figuratively. The estate, under the care of Emmanuel Cruse, farms a modest 7 hectares of gravelly soils just outside the Margaux village itself. Everything here is done by hand, from pruning to harvest. Yields are low, the work is meticulous, and the focus is purely on crafting honest, characterful wine that reflects its terroir.
The 2020 vintage shows Margaux at its most graceful as the classic iron fist inside a velvet glove: ripe cassis and plum fruit balanced by the hallmark perfume and lift that define the appellation. There’s structure, too, but it’s the kind of classical balance that makes you want to drink it, not just admire it. It’s Bordeaux as it should be. This is elegant, pure, and without pretense.
That this wine reaches our shelves at a fraction of the cost of its more famous neighbors is thanks to the work of Rosenthal Wine Merchant, whose relationships with growers like the Cruse family stretch back decades. Neal’s selections are guided by trust and taste, not marketing.
For collectors who appreciate authenticity over artifice, 2020 Château des Graviers Margaux is a chance to drink and cellar a true Margaux from a great vintage, made by people whose hands are still stained with the juice of their own grapes. As 2020s start to pop up, a few years of bottle age clearly offer a lot of value. Personally, I believe that two to three years really start to slap in a way that current releases seldom do.
