Clos du Jaugueyron, The Risk-Taker 2020

Petit Verdot and Merlot

Bordeaux, France

Hand-destemmed Petit Verdot steeped in free-run juice merlot for a short maceration with little to none extraction in concrete vats. Eight months ageing in old 400L barrels. 1,100 bottles produced.

Originally from the Languedoc Roussillon, Michel Theron went to Bordeaux to study winemaking in 1988. The plan to return to his family's estate never happened. He fell in love with a Bordelaise girl, and in 1994, the couple produced their first wine from a small parcel in Cantenac they bought in 1993. Today the estate has developed to a little over 7 hectares in Arsac, Cantenac, and Margaux. 

Michel is a firm believer in organic/biodynamic viticulture, converting officially with the 2008 vintage. The vineyards are plowed, the ecosystem is taken care of, and Michel has never used synthetic products in the vineyards. The gravels and sandy soil of Macau, with very little clay, tend to bring very mineral, terroir driven fruits, while the Terroir of Arsac, with more clay, tend to bring more fruits. Michel is here to make sure the balance between the terroirs make sense in the wines. Unlike most of his neighbors, he is no fan of over extracted, over oaked, or over scored wines. Yes, these are powerful, earthy, and serious, but finesse and delicatesse is what comes to mind first. This is a special type of age-worthy Medoc we had previously thought extinct.