As owner of one of Europe’s foremost rugby squads, Racing 92, together with four quality Bordeaux wine chateaux, Jacky Lorenzetti has many commitments on his time, but his love of wine and sport always manages to shine through the pressures of a larger business empire. As President of Racing 92 rugby club, he changed its name from Racing Metro back in 2015 and helped establish it further as one of the most successful clubs in the French Top 14 rugby championship.
Jacky Lorenzetti has always had a fine appreciation of the great wines of the Médoc region. Jacky and his wife Françoise first purchased Chateau Lilian Ladouys and its 46 hectares in 2008, and then went on to purchase Château Pédesclaux in 2009. In 2013, Jacky teamed up with Emmanuel Cruse taking over 50% of Chateau d’Issan, a fine 1855 Margaux Grand Cru Classé certified winery.
Château Lilian Ladouys – Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel – St Estephe: In 2008, Jacky and Françoise Lorenzetti acquired the estate after falling in love with it. When tasted, Lilian Ladouys always reveals a rich and crisp structure with ripe tannins and refined oak which melts into an explosion of fruit. It has the opulence and length of a Saint-Estephe fine wine. Thanks to the appellation’s limestone-clay subsoils, its power is balanced out by a wonderful sensation of freshness. The recent upgrade to Exceptionnel has catapulted Lilian Ladouys into wine lovers’ consciousness all round Europe.
Chateau Lilian Ladouys Le Devise de Lilian 2017, St Estephe, 13% Abv.
Soft silky very elegant, supple red fruits, red currant pastille, black currant and red plum. Exotic and easy going with silky tannins. Great drinkability for an accessible vintage.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chateau Lilian Ladouys 2016, St Estephe, 13.5% Abv.
Earthy, raisined black cherry, liquorice, savoury plummy aromatics. Super slky and soft textured with supple tannins, cedar spice and delicate weightless cherry fruit concentration. A serious effort from a blockbuster vintage in Bordeaux.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Château Lafon Rochet – Grand Cru Classé en 1855 – Saint Estephe: Lafon-Rochet is a close neighbour to Lilian Ladouys and is among the greatest terroirs of St-Estephe. The vineyards are mainly located around the château in a large contiguous plot, not far from Cos d’Estournel, Cos Labory, and across the stream in Pauillac, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.
Chateau Lafon Rochet Les Pelerins de Lafon Rochet 2019, 14% Abv.
Dark black broody aromatics with smokey black berry, graphite, and blue berry nuances. Palate shows exotic sour cherry fruits, black currant, parma violets and a delicate, soft textured weightless intense finish. Very classy indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chateau Lafon Rochet 2016, St Estephe, 14% Abv.
Rich earthy savoury nose with a warming feel of ripeness and depth with hoisin plum sauce, freshly tilled earth, with a beautifully intense and tangy fresh palate with creamy black currant, blueberry muffin, silky tannins, and a sweet savoury polished finish. Very classy from this impressive Bordeaux vintage.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Château Pédesclaux – Pauillac: The Chateau classified in 1855 is located in one of the most beautiful areas of Pauillac, and in the world of the great Pauillac, Château Pédesclaux is the image of its terroir: complex and powerful. In this mosaic of soils, clays promote power and bold expression of elegance. Emmanuel Cruse, co-owner of Château d’Issan, is General Manager of Pédesclaux, and his lineage coming from a long line of proprietors and merchants that have been present in the Medoc since the 18th century, make his expertise in the Bordeaux market very well recognized and respected.
Chateau Pedesclaux Fleur de Pedesclaux 2016, Pauillac, 13% Abv.
A delicious Pauillac with an unusually high 67% of Merlot supported by Cabernet. Nose shows mint chocolate, cocoa, creme de cassis, red currant and sweet vanilla oak spice. Plush and loose knit with creamy soft tannins and tangy acids, this is a deliciously forward fleshy wine with black currant, dried herbs and minty, purple grapey candied menthol nuances on the finish. Simply delightful.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chateau Pedesclaux 2014, Pauillac, 14% Abv.
Earthy and savoury with violets, cigar wrapper, graphite, and menthol cassis nuances. Sweet fruited, elegant and soft textured with fruit purity, salty cassis, thyme, Cabernet blackberry, menthol black currant cough sweets and a delicate, succulent finish. Lovely precision and purity for an almost 10-year-old wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chateau d’Issan Moulin d’Issan 2019, Haut Medoc, 13% Abv.
Made from fruit sourced from Chateau d’Issan’s Haut Medoc property, this is a 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon blend. A wonderfully soft, plush expression with a fleshy, supple concentration, sleek spicy tannins and a delicious red currant, black berry, and plummy mouth coating breadth. Really pretty, archetypal Bordeaux, with impressive precision and focus and a lovely Merlot dominated fleshy finish. A deliciously affordable all-rounder.
(Wine Safari Score: 90+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chateau d’Issan Blason d’Issan 2016, Margaux, 13% Abv.
Officially the second wine of Chateau d’Issan, the classy 2016 shows lovely leafy, sweet cassis notes with hints of black currant, sweet black plum, peach tea and subtle dried violet and potpourri notes. Compact and plush, dense and creamy with sweet tannins, opulent fleshy fruits and a deliciously elegant, savoury, plush mouthfeel. Really classy with classical Margaux power and precision.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Jacky Lorenzetti stable of Bordeaux fine wines are imported into the UK by Simon Halliday at Sporting Wine Club and are available for retail by the bottle from specialist fine wine merchants like Museum Wines.