The Wine Fairy

Today is a very special #MerlotThursday because I’m featuring a Merlot wine straight from the source: The Vins de Bordeaux expo table at TEXSOM 2025!

The Bordeaux delegation is on the expo floor for all three days, pouring beautiful reds that rotate each day. Likewise, three winemakers are here for the conference: François Despagne of Château Grand Corbin Despagne and Vignobles Despagne, François Estager of Château La Cabanne and Vignobles Estager, and Nicolas Réblé of Maison Galhaud and SCODEX Wines.⁠

Sunday night, they treated Sommer Campers to a Right Bank Bordeaux presentation hosted by Master of Wine Mary Gorman-McAdams. An elegant plated dinner was paired with six wines in magnum from six different estates across Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, and Fronsac.

By this point in the week, my body composition is likely about 1% Merlot. My tasting notebook is a mess of scribbles. I’m overwhelmed in the best possible way.

I’ve been leaning into Right Bank Bordeaux lately as part of the #MerlotThursday blog project. And as luck would have it, I’m assigned to keep an eye on the Vins de Bordeaux booth and help them with any little errands that they need.

I lent the Bordeaux crew my extra corkscrew this morning, but otherwise they don’t require any help from me. So I wander the room, swapping out spittoons, picking up foil pieces, and refilling bottled water stations. In between tasks and conversations, I taste.

The convention hall is buzzing with wine pros and stocked with a torrential quantity of excellent wine. Working, networking, sipping, rinsing, and writing requires at least five hands, and Nature only gave me two. Something’s gotta give, so I stopped trying to take detailed tasting notes sometime yesterday.

I begin scanning the room for a #MerlotThursday candidate: Merlot-dominant, please–and preferably a 2005 vintage (more on that in a sec). The Bordeaux table seems like a good bet.

The pace is insane, I’m certain that my palate is faltering, and I feel that I can’t spend more than a beat or two on any one pour. But when I get a whiff of this 2005 Château Larmande, I sneak off to the Somm Lounge to have a few moments alone with the glass.

It’s incredibly fragrant, with aromas of red fruits and rose oil blooming from the glass as I ferry it off of the expo floor and through the temporary cellar that’s set up in the grand ballroom. The color is a vibrant medium garnet. A pretty, fruity nose of ripe raspberry, red currants, rose/violet (creamy florals, like face cream), and chocolate mousse, subtly seasoned with cedar, cinnamon, and clove. The palate is similar, adding biscotti, toffee, blackberry, and lightly roasted coffee. Alcohol is on the higher side, but harmonizes with the wood and spice giving an aromatic lift at the end. Soft but persistent tannins contribute to a long finish that belies its medium body and modest flavor concentration.

It’s far from the most complex wine I’ve ever tasted–but man, is it pleasant to drink. At 20 years old, this Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé has achieved balance while retaining delightful freshness.

2005 vintages have a place of honor at TEXSOM this year because it is the conference’s 20th anniversary. Happily, many quality bottles from 2005 (Hunter Valley Semillon, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino–and of course, Bordeaux) are hitting a perfect drinking window. We’ve been passing around some of these special wines all week long.

I’m keeping a detailed account of my first TEXSOM adventure! See more Sommer Camp posts here.

Also: The Wine Fairy blog is uncorking a different Merlot every week! See posts tagged with #MerlotThursday.

Bottle: Château Larmande Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé (2005)

Variety: Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (30%), Cabernet Sauvignon (5%)

ABV: 14.99%

Suggested retail: $59.99

My rating: 9.0 (out of 10)

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own. Wines tasted were provided through a TEXSOM partnership with Vins de Bordeaux.