Chateau Les Garelles Bordeaux Blanc 20

When I was presented with this wine, it was described to me as an example of "ethical wine" and "ethical viticulture." I was fascinated by the premise of ethical wine, so I decided to dig a little deeper.

Brothers Adrien and Thomas Novoa are the owners of Château Les Garelles and are members of a new movement in Bordeaux. The brothers are partners in a cooperative of thirty estates, committed to the premise of "ethical wine."

This dynamic collective of winemakers leverages the many benefits of mutual assistance and experience to make cutting-edge information and technology available to even the smallest estates. The core principle of the group is to provide ethical and equitable resources to all members.

Jean-Francois Réaud, one of the founding members of the cooperative, describes their vision in this way:
We have all contributed to writing a charter that unites us and guarantees constant production. We have faith in this system and are proud to belong to a new form of ethical viticulture enterprise which goes far beyond fairness.

We are reinventing the future of Bordeaux production and distribution. Guided by the passion of our métier, we are breaking Bordeaux rules by democratizing access to quality products from independent producers to spread the joy of our clean, pure wines.

Château Les Garelles is located on Bordeaux's Right Bank in the Entre-Deux-Mers. While some terrific reds are produced in this region, white wines also shine here. The soil of clay-limestone and clay-sand, along with a subsoil of limestone and clay, is particularly well-suited for growing Sauvignon Blanc.

Thomas Novoa very nicely illustrates the estate's philosophy:
Our father purchased the Château Les Garelles' estate in 1997. After agronomy and oenology studies for me, I decided to take over the family estate in 2009 with one ambition: going back to natural winemaking. As I arrived, I launched the conversion of the vineyard to organic farming. To take my commitment to the next step, I stopped using any kind of input [added ingredients or adjuncts] in my winemaking process in 2013.

My brother, Adrien, graduated of oenology studies and joined me on the estate in 2018. Together, we are proud to be back to the core of our métier: crafting grapes as naturally as possible to seize the best of our terroir and offer natural organic wines at a fair price so that everyone can enjoy. Here's our winegrowing vision!

This lovely White Bordeaux from Les Garelles is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sauvignon Gris -- somewhat of an unusual blend for a White Bordeaux. In your glass, you'll find notes of white flowers and citrus on the nose leading to a clean palate featuring lemon, yellow fruits, and just a whisper of grapefruit. There's ample minerality to balance the zippy fruit, and the Sauvignon Gris adds a subtle tropical spin to the mix.

Pair with white-fleshed fish, shellfish, chicken and lighter pork dishes.