A few Saturdays ago, Joy and I decided to participate in a theatrical double-header. Pure, a company previously located on King Street in Charleston, recently moved to a newly renovated performance space on Canon Street. Pure was offering two different (and well-performed/directed) plays by the late Sam Shepard.

Following the matinee, we walked a few blocks to a new restaurant (new for us – it has been open for about a year), Goulette. The restaurant is billed as a French Bistro, but there are some items (like fish and chips) that are not traditional French Bistro fare. They refer to themselves as ‘frenchish’…”French heritage with just the right amount of American”. I know this is not a food blog, but a shout-out is appropriate for this relatively new addition to the excellent Charleston food scene. However, more to the point, the wine list was both focused and reasonably priced. And, on the wine list, was a 2013 Chateau Pibran from Pauillac. This wine, which we had never experienced, was an excellent choice as a companion to both the restaurant’s ‘famed’ Rotisserie Chicken and very flavorful Grilled Merguez Lamb Sausage.

Pibran is, by Bordeaux standards, a new winery. The Chateau can date its history ‘only’ to the beginning of the 20^th century.  By comparison, Haut-Brion from neighboring Pessac can trace its legacy to the mid-17^th century. Lafite Rothschild, also of Pauillac, likewise qualifies as a 17^th chateau, but has actually been producing wine in the same location since the early 13^th century. The Pibran estate was purchased in 1941 by Paul Pibran Billa and was renamed using his middle name. In 1987 the AXA Insurance Group purchased the winery and its 42 acres of grapes. Jean Michel Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages was named manager of the estate.  If you are familiar with Lynch Bages then you know that the new ownership made an excellent decision to hire Cazes. AXA has also acquired Pichon-Baron, Quinta do Noval (Port) in Northern Portugal, and Disznoko, Hungary’s outstanding Tokaj producer. AXA clearly considers fine wine a worthy element of the company’s portfolio.

Unique for the Pauillac region, 54% of the Pibran vineyards are planted with Merlot. Pauillac is located on Bordeaux’s West Bank. The West Bank is considered the ‘holy grail’ of Bordeaux.  Three of the five Grand Cru wine, Latour, Mouton Rothschild, and Lafite Rothschild all claim Pauillac as home. But Grand Cru producers focus on Cabernet. First Growth wines are created with aging as an expectation and Cabernet is fundamental to their aging calculus. By contrast, the Pibran, with its Merlot base, offers a very smooth texture and is approachable soon after bottling.  The Pibran will not age as long as a Lafite nor is it intended to do so…

Despite its youth, the Pibran is a dark and dense wine (despite being only 13% ABV) with dark fruit that appears on the nose and continues through the palate and lingering finish. Wine reviewer Steve Spurrier graded the 2013 Pibran with an 88 (a rating that needs to be revisited) noting that it offers “very good depth of fruit, spicy, smoothness, ripeness, and elegance, good future”. Spurrier also suggests that the 2013 version of the wine we experienced is now at its peak of ‘drinkability’. Recent vintages of the wine have earned even more favorable reviews.

Sterling Cellars of Mahopac, New York still offers the 2013 on its website at $29.99. Total Wines in Charleston offers the 2015 at $39.99. And, of course, try this wine at Charleston’s Goulette, or look for the Pibran on a wine list near you.