The Guillemet family have owned Boyd-Cantenac since 1932, which by Bordeaux standards makes them settled rather than new. It is a small Third Growth of around seventeen hectares in the commune of Cantenac, inside the Margaux appellation, and it has long been made alongside the family's other classed growth, Château Pouget.
What sets the wine apart is the blend. Where much of Margaux leans on perfume, Boyd-Cantenac plants an unusually high share of Cabernet Sauvignon and keeps a real proportion of Petit Verdot, so the wine has more grip and darker fruit than the appellation's reputation implies. It is old-fashioned in the good sense: unshowy, structured, made to be kept.
1985 was a kind vintage in the Médoc, with a warm dry late summer after a hard winter, producing wines that were generous young and have aged gently. At forty years old this will be fully resolved, tertiary and quiet. A classed growth from a good year, sold for the year it names.
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Producer: Château Boyd-Cantenac
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Vintage: 1985
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Appellation: Margaux AOC
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Format: 75cl
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Region: Bordeaux, France
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Style: Red
Where it is likely to be now. The high Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot give this more backbone than most Margaux, which favours survival, though at forty years the wine will be fully resolved and delicate.
Who it suits. A well-judged forty-first birthday present for someone who appreciates an old-school classed growth without paying for a famous name.
Condition. The label is very slightly bin-soiled from years in a cellar rack, and the wine is filled to the base of the neck, which is an excellent level for a forty-year-old Bordeaux.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
