2006 Château Pierre De Lune

Château Pierre de Lune was founded in 1999 when Veronique and Tony Ballu bought 2.3 acres of vineyards in St.-Emilion. Both earned their oenology degrees at L’Ecole de la Tour Blanche in Gironde before going on to work in winemaking at various estates in Bordeaux. Since there was no château on the property, the couple named their wine Pierre de Lune. The wine is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, and only about 3,500 bottles are produced annually. Still this “garagiste” wine has won praise from reviewers, including Robert M. Parker Jr. which calls “open-knit, expansive, ripe, chewy, and fruit-driven with copious levels of glycerin.” In 2004 the couple bought a nearby residence and installed their own cellar.

Saint-Émilion is on the east side of the Dordogne River. At 13,400 acres it is one of Bordeaux’s largest appellations, and perhaps its most picturesque. It is also home to what has been called “the garagiste” movement of upstart, tradition-defying winemakers who produce artisanal wines in styles that are unconventional for the appellation. The village of Saint-Émilion dates from the middle ages and it sits on low hills, surrounded by ancient walls. Like its neighbor Pomerol, Saint-Émilion was not included in the famous Bordeaux classification system of 1855. But a century later a ranking system was put in place, and unlike the classification system for the Medoc, the Saint-Émilion system is reviewed every ten years, meaning that estates can be upgraded or downgraded. There are three rankings: Grand Cru Classé, Premier Grand Cru Classé B and Premier Grand Cru Classé A, with the final ranking being the best. Such legendary Saint-Émilion estates as Châteaux Ausone and Cheval-Blanc are Premier Grand Cru Classé A, along with Châteaux Pavie and Angélus, both added to the classification in 2012. Wines in this appellation are primarily Merlot, mixed with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.