2005 Château Haut-Marbuzet

Château Haut-Marbuzet is a 143-acre estate in St.-Estephe. It is a Cru Bourgeois estate according to the appellation’s classification system. Though the estate dates back many centuries, it has been owned since 1952 by the Duboscq family, and is today run by Henri Duboscq, who also owns Château Chambert-Marbuzet and Château Tour de Marbuzet. The estate is planted to 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. It produces about 360,000 bottles of the flagship wine a year. The second wine is Château MacCarthy, a reference to the Irish family who created the vineyard from which the wine is sourced. Château Haut-Marbuzet is one of Western Europe’s most popular Bordeaux. Robert M. Parker Jr. notes that “I consider it as being more of fourth- or third-growth level…”

Saint-Estèphe is in the northern Médoc, on the left bank of the Gironde River. Although it has no First Growth estates, its five Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Growth châteaux are notable, and, in recent decades, have become favorites with reviewers and consumers. Some reviewers also note that the appellation is today making excellent Cru Bourgeois wines, which frequently offer good value. There are 3,404 acres of vineyards and a variety of soil types, from gravelly soil to soil with significant sand or clay. The two Second Growth Châteaux in St.-Estephe are Cos d’Estournel and Montrose. The Third Growth Calon-Ségur is widely admired. The principal grapes grown are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.