At the beginning of 2008, the head sommelier from Gordon Ramsay’s three Michelin star restaurant selected two of Château Bauduc’s red wines for the list at the group’s flagship restaurant. The winery’s Clos des Quinze from their Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux vineyard and Les Trois Hectares from three hectares of Merlot vines right next to the Château, were chosen for one of the most prestigious wine lists in the country.

Regular Bauduc customers have long known that the company’s Bordeaux Blanc, made from Sauvignon Blanc, has had the accolade of being the house white in all of Ramsay’s restaurants for no less than nine consecutive vintages. It has also made it as a special selection at Rick Stein’s. The wine itself is light, ripe, fruity and nettley, with a citrus twist and get this – it’s even beaten Mouton Rothchild’s white wine in a blind tasting!

A recent article in the Irish Examiner had Blake Creedon salivating during a recent Curious Wines tasting:

‘Sauvignon’ it says on the label, an epiphany in conservative Bordeaux. Here the grassy zest of the Sauvignon is beautifully complemented by a very assertive rich round Semillon. My favourite.

Now it’s the turn of the reds to impress. In fact, the top selling red wine last year at restaurant Gordon Ramsay, still the only restaurant in London with three Michelin stars, was the 2003 forerunner to Les Trois Hectares – a limited cuvee made specially for the restaurant.

You may have seen Oz Clarke and James May at Château Bauduc in BBC’s Big Wine Adventure. After visiting, Oz commented, “Bauduc’s new Merlot-based flagship red, Les Trois Hectares 2005, is showing the delicious core of fruit typical of this vintage, plus classy oak”. Regarding Château Bauduc, he continued, “More than a match for quite a few much more expensive wines from top appellations”.

Yet more French wines from Curious that are drinking well above their appellation.