When all the wines in your local wine shop are curated by the owner and staff, like at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan there are times, more often than not, where one gets to try both the first and second label from a chateau.  This was the case when I was able to taste two wines from Chateau de Rouillac from Pessac-Leognan and both of these were red.  The Chateau actually produces six labels, three red and three whites. 

Chateau de Rouillac Pessac-Leognan 2016 is an historic estate and noble land bequeathed in the Seventeenth Century to Jean-Paul Loret, then President of the Parliament of Bordeaux.  In 2009, the property was acquired by Laurent Cisneros who accepted the challenge to reinvigorate the old estate and the grounds, while his wife and three daughters enjoyed the grounds and out buildings for their love of the equestrian arts.  The Grand Vin label is decorated with a Rose des Vents, symbol of the orientation of the new course of Chateau de Rouillac by Laurent Cisneros.  The estate is thirty-six hectares, with twenty-six hectares devoted to vineyards on fine gravel soil.  The wine is fifty-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon and forty-eight percent Merlot.  The fruit is hand-harvested and manually inspected and Initial Fermentation is done in Thermo-regulated Stainless-Steel vats for about twenty-five days.  The wine is then aged for about eighteen months in French Oak, of which a third is new.  A pretty ruby-red wine which offered notes of red fruit, cassis, toasted oak and tobacco.  On the palate the fruit, spice and oak mixed quite well with some softened tannins and a nice medium-count finish of terroir.

Le Baron de Rouillac Pessac-Leognan 2019 is the second label of the winery and an homage to Baron Haussmann.  The Baron acquired the estate in 1864 through marriage and it became his retreat from business in Paris.  He revamped the entire estate to fit his pleasures and his elegance of style.  The estate after it left his hands kind of drifted until the present owner Lauren Cisneros.  This wine does not get as much exportation as the first label.  The wine is a blend of fifty-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon and forty-eight percent Merlot.  The fruit is manually harvested and inspected.  Initial Fermentation in Thermo-regulated Stainless-Steel bats for twenty-two days and aged for twelve months in French Oak, of which fifteen percent was new.  The wine was a bright ruby-red in color and offered notes of fresh red fruit, floral and spices.  On the palate tones of blackberry and cassis, some spices and it was well balanced and crafted with a nice medium-count finish of terroir.  I thought it was refreshing and a bargain.