Broglie, 2022

A Rioja name come home to Bordeaux. A third of the grapes go in with their stems on, so this Merlot is tighter and more serious than the soft, plummy kind.

Olivier Riviere made his name in Rioja, then came back to Bordeaux in 2022 and bought a hillside of limestone and sand in the Cotes de Bourg. This is Merlot from a single hectare, with a third of the bunches fermented whole, stems and all. It is concentrated but taut and precise, firmer than his rounder estate red.