2010 Château Magdelaine, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Château Magdelaine, was a notable 1er grand cru classé, in St-Emilion owned by the famous firm of Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix. Magdelaine had 10.4 hectares of vineyards, of which six were on the famous St Emilion limestone ridge (very close to Ch. Ausone) and the remainder on clay- and limestone-based slopes. Merlot performs particularly well on these limestone-rich soils and at Magdelaine it is the dominant grape, making up 90 percent of the blend – a higher proportion than is found in any other Premier Grand Cru Classé from St Emilion. The final vintage of Magdelaine was 2011, before it was swallowed up by Ch. Bélair-Monange.

First officially classified in 1954, St-Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest winemaking appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux combined. Many of the region's finest vineyards can be found atop the steep limestone slopes of the village itself, although a fledgling band of garagiste producers are eschewing terroir to make small-batch, deeply-concentrated wines from their homes.