The Wine Fairy

Merlot Thursdays are taking us to wine regions far and wide–but it seems all roads lead back to Saint-Émilion.

Bordeaux’s Right Bank, admittedly, isn’t the most imaginative place to commune with the variety. Still, it’s where I tend to end up when I want to drink Merlot at its most pleasing. Complex fragrance, abundant fruit, and always a romantic color: Saint-Émilion has everything you expect to find in a glass of Merlot, plus a few surprises, too.

The local wine shop owner knows Bordeaux very well and selected this wine for me as a #MerlotThursday value play. The producer is Famille Vauthier, of Château Ausone fame. The vineyards of Château Simard are just a couple of fence hops away (we looked on a map!) from the more prestigious estate.

I suppose–technically speaking–that this modestly priced Grand Cru outranks Château Ausone after their 2022 withdrawal from the Saint-Émilion classification system. (If not with this 2018 vintage, then very soon–as Ausone is now just styled as “wine of Saint-Émilion.”) But that’s all very complicated to get into…so let’s just taste the wine instead.

Very dark ruby, almost black. A sweet, ripe nose is dominated by smooshy black fruits. Soft blackberry, bramble, prune, raisined currants, light cinnamon, and molasses. The brightest aroma I find is its cedar note–a smoke-tinged, camphorous vapor that my tasting buddy aptly calls “citronella candle.”

On the palate, it’s full-bodied with an elevated–but not obnoxious–level of alcohol. Medium-plus acidity enlivens flavors of black cherry, creamy Mexican chocolate, and roasted poblano, leaning ashy. The finish is quite long and suitably rich, with smooth tannins cuddling up to flavors of blueberry pie, vanilla, and strong-brewed peppermint tea.

Château Simard’s 40 hectares can be described as a microcosm of the region, comprising three distinct Bordeaux soils: Clay-limestone, sand, and gravel. These soil types and their distribution dictated the estate’s plantings, which are of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, respectively.

The final blend usually mirrors these proportions very closely. (In the 2018 vintage, exactly so.) The wine is made in neutral vessels and then gets a few months of oak treatment, which the winemaker describes as “very gentle.”

Fruit ripeness is a cherished advantage in Saint-Émilion. The high percentage of Merlot plantings and the slightly more predictable inland climate allows them to create big, plush wines without the unripe flavors or forbidding tannins that can haunt the Left Bank.

But is it sometimes too much of a good thing? As a reformed Cab-preferrer, I do enjoy a side of vegetables with my fruit. When I taste a very ripe wine from a hot vintage, I find myself missing the freshness–even the greenness–that makes Merlot from Bordeaux stand out from warm-climate versions.

In the lineup of Famille Vauthier’s minor wines that I have purchased for #MerlotThursday (I’m sure there will be more), the 2018 Château Simard takes an early second-place standing. The heaviness of its dark berries, combined with only the smallest dash of oak-derived spice, results in a wine that sits deep down inside the glass. It’s dense and layered–a dessert-y sipper that you taste more than smell. It’s narrowly edged out by last month’s 2015 Petit Vauthier, which charmed me with its long-lived raspberry tartness and clouds of delicate florals.

Bottle: Château Simard Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (2018)

Variety: Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (25%), Cabernet Sauvignon (5%)

ABV: 13.5%

Suggested retail: $32.99

My rating: 8.7 (out of 10)

On Thursdays, we Merlot! See past #MerlotThursday reviews here.

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. (This week’s Merlot was tasted at The Wine Authority in Richardson, Texas.)