Les Allées de Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc

As we have learned time and again over three years of offering wines on this site, Bordeaux is unparalleled when it comes to drinking sound, mature wines at reasonable (often straight-up cheap) prices. So much age-worthy wine from around the world is consumed when it is way too young, while the alternative usually requires a significant financial outlay (or, more patience than many of us can muster). And for all of the creeping “modernity” in Bordeaux—heavily extracted, heavily oaked styles designed for immediate gratification—there’s still a critical mass of structured, sturdy wines that’ll go 10-20 years with ease.With all this in mind, I visited Bordeaux recently with the mission of acquiring some of these well-matured (or maturing) classics for our customers—and after 3 months of patiently waiting, they have finally made the long journey and are ready to ship after resting in our cool warehouse. This 2009 from Château Cantemerle is an archetypal Bordeaux ‘second wine’—as in, a wine