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While every budding wine geek worth their salt can easily reel off the names of all the grapes allowed in a Bordeaux blend, few realize that almost every single wine made in Bordeaux utilizes three at best: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. The majority of Malbec in Bordeaux died out from frost in the 1950s, and Petit Verdot often ripens too late to make it into the final blend, so many vineyards have been replanted with other varieties over the years. One exception is Chateau D’Issan in Margaux, whose owners purchased a plot bearing Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc in 2019; they have added the grapes to their cuvee beginning with the 2020 vintage.
Situated to the side of the D’Issan estate and bordered by the vineyards of Château Margaux and Château Palmer, the 17-acre parcel is planted with three cultivars that had previously not been part of the château’s wine: Petit Verdot dating to 1948, Cabernet Franc planted in 1958, and a small amount of Malbec that had been added in 2010. Although generally Château D’Issan’s flagship bottling is a blend of 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 35 percent Merlot (the exact percentage varies slightly year-to-year) this new plot offered its owner and winemaking team a rare opportunity to introduce small amounts of these three into the mix. The previous owner was only interested in selling to a family business, and unfortunately for Château D’Issan partner and general manager Emmanuel Cruse, both neighboring wineries are family-owned as well. Although Palmer’s owners were very interested and the Mentzelopoulos family, proprietors of Château Margaux, made a last-minute offer for the vines, Cruse’s easygoing personality and sense of diplomacy won the over the “lady with a strong character” to whom the plot had belonged.
Cruse’s primary object of desire was the Petit Verdot, which are original vines rather than clones; he had considered ripping out the Malbec but harvested and vinified it for the 2020 vintage and liked it so much that it has become an integral part of the blend. Of a blending session and trial tasting that included himself, consulting enologist Eric Boissenot, technical manager Eric Pellon, cellar master Clement Di Constanzo, and vineyard manager Olivier Chalaud, Cruse recalls that he got “aggressive” with Boissenot, calling the addition of 1 percent Malbec “bullshit.” The consultant then prepared two different samples, one with no Malbec and one with a small amount, which the team then tasted blind. “Of course, guess what happened? I preferred the one with 1 percent Malbec,” he says.
Cruse calls Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec the backbone of the wine, but each varietal plays its part. “Cabernet Franc adds elegance and finesse on the nose,” he says. “Petit Verdot is like a booster; it adds power. Malbec, which is more for structure, gives aromatic complexity and a bit more tension to the final blend.” Another good analogy is to think of the main ingredient—in this case, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec—as the meat of the wine, with small amounts of additional grapes acting as herbs or spices. While you might not wish to eat an entire plate of salt, you certainly feel its absence when it is lacking on a grilled steak. Grapes from this new vineyard made their way into the wines made in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023; Malbec was not included in the 2023 bottling because the team felt it was throwing the blend off balance, but it made a return in 2024.
The wines of Château D’Issan are well represented at Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, where vintages from 1982 to 2020 are offered among almost 1,300 Bordeaux featuring nearly every classified producer. Senior sommelier Brad Dixon describes its wine as “classic Margaux—elegant and fragrant with great aging potential.” While he is not yet pouring the 2020 for guests, because both the 1982 and 1995 are in their primes, he confidently says, “the five varietal cépage will age as well or better than the older vintages.” That’s great news for collectors, many of whom count this Third Growth Margaux among their favorite bottles.
The wines of Château D’Issan
Chateau D’Issan
San Diego-based collector Bryan Babbitt, who began a journey toward WSET and Court of Master Sommelier certification in 2022, was introduced to D’Issan that year at a local wine bar. The sommelier there offered Babbitt and his best friend the remains of a 2008 D’Issan that had been opened earlier in the night. After “falling in love with it,” he began purchasing bottles from the château and currently has 12 vintages in his cellar. With a modest collection that heavily features Napa and Bordeaux, Babbitt visited the latter region this past August and made Château D’Issan his first stop. Of the recent vintages made with the five varieties, his favorite is 2020. “The five-year mark is when I really start to notice the younger, brighter notes decreasing and the aged notes starting to come through on the palate,” he says.
Arnaud Richard, a collector who lives in Paris, first became aware of Château D’Issan in his quest to find a Margaux that’s more affordable than Château Margaux or Palmer. He has been acquiring bottles since the 2012 vintage, purchasing only magnums during en primeur to add to his 5,000-bottle cellar. “I like Cabernet Franc, which brings freshness, and I like Petit Verdot and Malbec for the intensity they bring,” he says.
Donald Zilkha, who is primarily based in New York but has lived in Europe, Asia, and South America, has enjoyed drinking wines from Margaux from a young age, as his parents were friends with the proprietors of both Château Margaux and Château Palmer. A member of both the Commanderie de Bordeaux and Commanderie du Bontemps, it is safe to say that he has more than a passing knowledge of and interest in wine from Bordeaux, which accounts for around 30 percent of his 4,000-bottle collection. Zilkha believes that D’Issan really hit its stride in the 21st century, and he has purchased bottles from the 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2022 vintages. “The new assemblage enhances the aromas in the glass,” Zilkha says. “Once again, Emmanuel constantly pushes the envelope to present a better wine.”
Cruse believes that the 2022 is the best wine the château has made since 2010. “The 2010 is very structured, elegant and classic,” he says. “Blended with the five varieties, 2022 is vintage with very ripe fruit. It is very special, very round, smooth, and pleasant to drink even if it is young.” Made with 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, 2 percent each Cabernet Franc and Malbec, and one percent Petit Verdot, Château D’Issan 2022 is dark ruby in the glass and has aromas of black plum, mocha, candied violets, and a whiff of earthiness. It is full bodied, with opulent tannins and flavors of black cherry, lavender, vanilla bean and a touch of baking spice. It is drinking beautifully right now, but feel free to lay it down until the middle of the century.
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Authors
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Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
