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Wine style : Bama evokes a vanishing era of Bordeaux: light in color, low in body, yet extraordinarily refined, perfumed, and velvety. Complexity triumphs over concentration, with a sappy,
persistent finish that demands another sip. It’s pure terroir, unmasked, mystical, rare, and made as in the 19th century.
Thanks to the sympathy of Mr Boyer, all of the below wines come directly from Mr Boyer, released few weeks ago.
Why Vibrant : Because Bama is truly one-of-a-kind, a complete UFO in Bordeaux—and arguably in the entire wine world. It’s the only Bordeaux I could drink everyday !
BORDEAUX
Margaux - Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre
Château Bel Air Marquis d’Aligre (BAMA, for insiders) is a truly singular wine—one to cherish for as long as it remains available. Its creator, Jean-Pierre Boyer—now over 90 years old with more than 70 vintages to his name—famously describes himself as “extra-terrestrial,” crafting wines unlike any other in Bordeaux and resolutely ignoring trends.
BAMA is the expression of a disappearing Bordeaux: a wine driven by complexity rather than power, at times profoundly deep, always remarkably pure, and finishing with a sapid freshness that calls for another sip. It is terroir laid bare—mystical, unconventional, and rare—made in the spirit of the 19th century.
The vineyards are equally extraordinary. Most vines date back to the 19th century, some even pre-phylloxera, resulting in naturally low yields. Boyer treats each vine as one of his children and refuses to uproot any. The main parcel lies on the exceptional terroir of Virefougasse, shared in part with Château Margaux.
Production is unique: only one wine is made—there has never been a second label. It is a field blend of the four classic Médoc varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot), complemented by rare, ancient Bordeaux grapes such as Castet, Mancin, and Saint-Macaire. While the estate spans 13 hectares, only around 3 hectares are actively farmed today, with the rest left fallow or leased out. The exact blend is never disclosed, though it is estimated to be led by Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
This is not a wine of power or extraction. Quite the opposite: pale in color, light in body, yet incredibly refined, perfumed, and velvety. It evokes the layered subtlety of old-school claret, closer in spirit to 19th-century Bordeaux than to any modern style.
Winemaking follows the same philosophy: no oak, no modern cellar techniques, no extraction. Fermentations are slow and natural, followed by extended ageing—around three years—in concrete vats. The wine is only bottled in the finest vintages (with several years skipped entirely), and each release demonstrates remarkable longevity. The latest vintage released is 2012. Boyer recommends opening the bottle the day before serving, leaving it upright and uncorked until pouring.
For deeper insight, see Neal Martin’s article in Vinous, “Last Man Standing: Bel Air-Marquis d'Aligre.”
All wines were sourced directly from the estate and released at the end of 2025 from the private collection of Mr Boyer.
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WINES
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 1964
Type : Red
What a knockout! Supremely elegant and long, with tobacco, incense, dried flowers, and gentle spices. Once wild, now refined— 60 years of history in every sip. Simply grand !
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 1970
Type : Red
A complex bouquet of dried red fruit, cassis, pencil shavings, violets and a subtle touch of cigar ash introduces a supple, elegant but concentrated wine with lovely depth at the core, melted tannins and pitch-perfect balance.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 1986
Type : Red
Tobacco and sous-bois bouquet, more St Julien style, brooding. Masculine entry with taut structure yet a core of black fruit shines. Saline notes and a lingering black pepper finish make this uncompromising but fascinating.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 1989
Type : Red
Amazingly fresh for such an old wine. Smooth, complex, delicate with a great finish. Cherry, plum, leather, orange, spices. A special wine.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 1996
Type : Red
Drinking beautifully, with plum and cassis layered with fresh tobacco, gentle spice, and sweet earth. Velvety and pure, with fine concentration and melting tannins—now entering a long, generous plateau of maturity.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 1998
Type : Red
This is singing today, tasting far younger than its age. Juicy, full-bodied and silky with layers of blackcurrant, raspberry, bay leaf, umami and iron notes. Beautifully balanced with a Burgundian elegance.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2005
Type : Red
Tobacco and graphite-tinged nose leaning to black fruit. Medium-bodied and crisp, it builds gently with fine tannins, a precise acid line, and a nuanced, clove-spiced finish. Dense yet refined, with black plum and balsamic.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2009
Type : Red
Pure, captivating bouquet of cranberry, wild strawberry, mint, and a hint of iodine. Medium-bodied and vibrant, with a fine acid line, pristine red fruit, and a poised, energetic finish. A beautiful wine.”
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2010
Type : Red
Blue and black fruits, savoury earth and sweet, clove-tinged tannins. Restrained, thoughtful and quietly complex, with refined tertiary notes. Blind, you might never guess Bordeaux.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2011
Type : Red
Refined, silky and elegant with striking acidity and a structure built to age for decades. Aromas of plum, dark cherry, and blueberry layered with tobacco, leather, and oak.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2012
Type : Red
ripe blackberries, raspberries, plums, and sweet spices. Broad and generous on the palate with silky texture and mineral lift, true BAMA spirit, finishing in true Burgundy style with leather, fresh mushroom, and spice.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2013
Type : Red
it’s open from the first pour—fine, racy, quietly dense, with pure fruit untouched by oak.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2014
Type : Red
Surprisingly deep and layered unlike most of the wines of this vintage, with smooth tanins, red berries, blueberry, asian spices, cranberry… lively and lovely !
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2015
Type : Red
Already approable - fantastic vintage. Fresh red berries—wild strawberry and cranberry—lifted by floral, minty, and saline notes. Elegant, vibrant palate with black cherry and cassis, silky tannins, and a long, refined finish.”
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2016
Type : Red
Fresh pure vibrant red fruit free of any oak, sappy and full of tension on the finish.
Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre - Margaux - 2018
Type : Red
Still a baby, restrained and compact, on deep black cherry, blueberry, plum aromas. Enjoyable with a strong potential to deliver all the bama magic in a couple of years .
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