This “alternative” Bordeaux is populated by the small independent estates that line the banks of the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers, where conscientious growers craft honest bottles for everyday enjoyment rather than 1oo-point scores. This is the Bordeaux to which winemaker Jean Marc Barthez belongs. The archetypal “dirt-under-the-fingernails” winemaker, he serves as the president of a small co-operative winery in Monségur, an ancient village founded by Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 13th century. There, he oversees a handful of growers who cultivate small family vineyards and join forces to produce Bordeaux wines that their friends and neighbours can actually afford. 2018 was a warm, sunny vintage with a hot and dry September. This red has wonderful “drinkability” aided by the absence of oak during the ageing process. Neither glitzy nor flashy, but perfectly embodies the region’s rural soul.