Limited Presale - Château Clarisse - Cabernet Franc, Merlot - Puisseguin Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, FR - 2021

Presale Offer

Reserve your bottles now before this small allocation arrives at Satellite. Presale offers are listed at 10% off our normal retail rate and combine with our normal quantity discount structure: 10% off 3+, 15% off 6+, and 20% off 12+. Wine Club members receive an additional 5% off all quantity discount tiers, plus free shipping on orders of 6 bottles or more.

Quantities are limited, presale orders are fulfilled first, and this is the best way to lock in bottles before the allocation lands.

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Gran Fondo presale import from Satllite 2026 (1).xlsx. Supplier notes: will break for Drew as needed; best pricing quoted at 5 cs. Using 60 bottles (5 cs) for presale quantity. Best bottle price $31.00; frontline bottle price $31.00. Organic or better: Y; native ferment: Y. Source line: 2021 Château Clarisse Puisseguin Saint Emilion (corrected Vint. from jammed name; Vint column said 2023)

Grapes & Style

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is an old Bordeaux and Loire red grape, and one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. In Bordeaux it’s often part of a blend, bringing lift, perfume, and freshness; in the Loire, especially Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur-Champigny, and Anjou, it stands on its own as one of the great medium-bodied red wines of France.

In the vineyard, Cabernet Franc ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, which helps it succeed in cooler regions. It still needs enough warmth to avoid hard green flavors, but when farmed well it can keep freshness while developing real aromatic complexity. It often works beautifully on limestone, gravel, and sandy soils, with style shifting depending on site.

In the glass, Cabernet Franc usually sits in a lovely middle zone: red and black fruit, fresh herbs, violet, graphite, pepper, and sometimes a subtle leafy edge. It can be light and crunchy or deeper and more structured, but it rarely needs heaviness to make its point. We like it for the way it combines freshness, savory detail, and quiet confidence.

Merlot

Merlot is one of Bordeaux’s major red grapes, especially important on the Right Bank in places like Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. It ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and often brings flesh, generosity, and softness to blends, though great Merlot can be every bit as serious and long-lived as more tannic varieties.

In the vineyard, Merlot’s early ripening is both useful and risky. It can succeed in slightly cooler or heavier soils, especially clay, but it’s vulnerable to spring frost and can lose definition if overcropped or picked too ripe. Site and restraint matter more than its easygoing reputation suggests.

In the glass, Merlot often shows plum, black cherry, red fruit, chocolate, herbs, tobacco, and a smooth, rounded texture. In simple versions it can be soft and friendly; in the best examples it has depth, structure, and a quiet savory complexity. Good Merlot is not just plush — it’s generous without losing shape.