Château Gigault Cuvée Viva 2014

Perhaps it’s the château’s location near St-Emilion that makes this claret so special. Or the know-how of the owner Bruno Dellac. Or the quality of this ripe vintage. What’s beyond doubt is the wine’s earthy richness and appealing ripe fruit. Château Gigault was recently acquired by four like-minded quality enthusiasts, and now releases two wines – a traditionally made claret and this, their no-expense-spared Cuvée Viva. One of the four owners is Stéphane Derenoncourt, who also makes wine at some of Saint-Emilion’s smartest addresses (La Mondotte, Canon La Gaffelière and Pavie Macquin). One of America’s leading critics Robert Parker always scores the wine highly, describing it as “consistently one of my picks as an overachieving wine”. Critic James Suckling called the wine "very appealing" and "very satisfying". Hand-picked, low-yield Merlot aged in new oak, this is a deeply flavoured, well-structured, voluptuous, modern-style claret, velvety, too. A top pick with roast lamb.