One of the Best Cellar Defenders: Bordeaux’s Château Dalem
There are so many incredible wines being made in the modern era of Bordeaux. From the 2016 to 2023 vintages, there’s no shortage of best-evers—we just need to give them some time. That’s where the cellar defenders come in: the great wines you open while the others age. These are the bottles you don’t have to think twice about pulling the cork on, but that are still good enough to deliver a remarkable fine wine experience.
I have a few favorites, and if you browse our inventory, I’d hope you find one bottle after another that fits the bill. But one of my top picks is a relative unknown—Château Dalem.
One of the first vintages of Dalem I encountered was the 2016, a wine Neal Martin called “Fronsac at its best.” Located on the Right Bank, not far from Pomerol, Fronsac is known for fruit-forward, Merlot-based charmers that deliver great value if not always the gravitas of their neighbors. But when I tasted the 2016 Dalem, that idea went right out the window—the depth of flavor and fruit, the minerality and structure, placed it squarely in the heart of the Right Bank, not on the margins. Indeed, Fronsac at its best.
It also struck me as a wine that could age incredibly well. The problem? It was so delicious I couldn’t help pulling the cork on one bottle after another. I knew it would improve with age, but when it was this good to begin with, why wait? (By the way… let me know if you ever come across more 2016—I've been searching ever since!) At its core, this is what I love in a cellar defender: unfussy, delicious, complex wines that overperform in a big way. A luxury experience at an everyday price.
The next wine that struck the same chord for me was Dalem’s 2019, and I went big. I bought bottles and mags for the store (and for myself...), and once again, they didn’t last long. As with the 2016, I figured the 2019 was a thing of the past. But when a recent parcel was offered to me, I grabbed every bottle I could find (and I recommend you do the same!)—and we now have the 2019 Dalem, Fronsac $29.99 94JD 94VN 92-94WA 93JS in stock!
Want a real treat for a casual wine lover? It’s a beautiful crossover wine. But even the most serious Bordeaux fans will recognize the caliber. Pop and pour or give it a decant—there’s just so much going on. The dynamic character of the 2019 vintage makes everything sing. Martin praised its “almost Burgundian purity,” while Jeb Dunnuck called it “a smoking deal.”With a few extra years under its belt, the 2019 is as good—or better—than ever, and I suspect it will coast for another 20 years easily. This time around, though, I might need a cellar defender for my cellar defender, just to make sure I see it through to maturity.