1776 Innovation – Limited Edition (Case of 6 bottles)

1776
INNOVATION

Limited Edition - 500 bottles

Côtes de Bourg

The world’s first wine aged in 55-liter miniature oak barrels

The 2025 vintage is currently available by waiting list only.
Please use the form at the bottom of the page to express your interest.
Requests will be processed in the order they are received.

“1776 Innovation” : the world’s first wine aged in miniature 55-liter barrels

“1776 Innovation” —like its sister cuvée “1776 Heritage” aged in 20-liter miniature barrels— offers a signature found nowhere else in the world. Because the influence of oak is heightened in smaller volumes, the wine acquires a truly distinctive character. Over the years, “1776 Innovation” will refine into a sovereign harmony, where power and elegance unite to express the very quintessence of Merlot and the greatness of this vintage: 2025 already promises to be monumental.

From yields limited to only 20 hectoliters per hectare, the base wine is a concentrated nectar, ideally suited to the unique maturation we envision for it. We select miniature French oak barrels crafted by Allary, a local artisanal cooperage renowned for exceptional expertise.

“1776 Innovation” stands proudly in the lineage of Bordeaux Grands Crus: honoring tradition while daring to innovate.

Since 1776, the Sabourin Family has shared a founding date with the United States of America. Our premium 1776 wine collection thus celebrates both our roots and the friendship between our two nations.

In 1776, our ancestors owned a small estate in the Médoc—Cru Le Moyne—whose wine was that very year ranked among the finest of Bordeaux by the city’s merchants. This estate, later known as Château Lemoine Lafon Rochet, remained in our family until 2006, when it was sold to its neighbor, Château La Lagune. Over the centuries, the Sabourin family’s winemaking ventures have borne different names, and since 2016, Alexis Sabourin has presided over La Maison Girondine.

Some of our ancestors once shaped the destiny of Bordeaux’s most prestigious names: at Issan, or at Cheval Blanc, where Mr. Fourcaud-Laussac drained the soils and boldly established Cabernet Franc as the dominant grape—defying the fashions of his time.

This spirit—innovative yet respectful of tradition—is precisely what has always defined Bordeaux Grands Crus. For three centuries, the world of wine has owed them its greatest technical and oenological advances.

The Sabourin Family’s experiments with miniature barrels since 2010

In 2010, Alexis Sabourin used a 10-liter miniature barrel to convince his father Jérôme to create an exceptional wine from a carefully selected parcel. The new miniature cask came from one of the region’s finest cooperages, Allary—six times awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France. The result was so convincing that the full-scale project was launched the very next year with Leopardus 2011. That wine already relied on meticulous parcel selection, but maturation still took place in traditional 225-liter barrels.

Since then, several experiments with miniature barrels have been carried out. By 2025, Alexis judged that the time had finally come to create a cuvée entirely matured in miniature barrels. Two complementary formats were chosen: an ultra-small 20-liter barrel for the haute-couture cuvée “1776 Heritage”, and an unprecedented 55-liter format for our other bespoke luxury wine “1776 Innovation”. A third cuvée, matured in traditional 225-liter barrels, highlights the difference: “1776 Tradition”.

A partnership with an exceptional Côtes de Bourg estate

The Côtes de Bourg appellation, north of Bordeaux facing the Médoc, is already renowned for Roc de Cambes (owned by the Mitjaville family of Château Tertre Roteboeuf, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru). Alexis has forged a partnership with what he considers the finest estate of the appellation: Château de La Grave. This 40-hectare property is home to an authentic medieval château and has belonged to the Bassereau family for over a century. The estate perfectly embodies the alliance of tradition and innovation, with large wooden vats and amphorae alongside cutting-edge equipment, as well as agro-environmental and biodynamic practices.

Château de La Grave has been certified organic and is currently converting to biodynamics. Its clay-gravel soils, well-drained and exposed on hillside slopes, produce controlled yields that favor structured, elegant red wines. Since his first vintage in 1990, Philippe Bassereau has farmed his vines with humility, expertise, and training shared alongside some of Bordeaux’s greatest technicians. This estate is a true jewel of the Côtes de Bourg—worthy of comparison with the finest Médoc and Libournais Grands Crus.

A jewel ideally suited to the meticulous craftsmanship behind “1776 Innovation” and its aging in 55-liter miniature barrels. Since the 2014 vintage, the Sabourin Family has entrusted Philippe’s expertise for the production of Leopardus. The creation of “1776 Innovation”, initiated by Alexis, further strengthens the alliance between the Sabourin and Bassereau families.

Tasting: the promise of a unique flavor, unmatched worldwide

“1776 Innovation” reveals a deep purple robe, echoing the same intensity as its elder sister. On the palate, it also expresses monumental power, with a broad structure and yet a more chiselled texture—favoring refinement and precision over sheer opulence.

Maturation in 55-liter barrels imparts a singular signature: a subtle balance between the richness of the fruit and the elegance of oak. Merlot grown on red clay-gravel soils offers intense aromas of blackberry and black plum, elevated by warm, assertive vanilla, alongside precise notes of cocoa and blond tobacco.

The finish is long and straight, with a delicate, distinguished smoky touch, delivering a sense of originality that places Innovation firmly among the great wines of character, while asserting its own unique identity.

  
Technical Sheet

Vineyard area : < 1 ha (parcel selection)

Terroir : Red gravelly clay soils, old vines atop a perfectly exposed hillside slope

Varietal : Merlot (100%)

Harvest : Manual

Aging : World’s first method in 55-liter oak barrels

Estimated alcohol : 14% vol.

Discover the other exceptional wines in our 1776 collection: “1776 Heritage”, “1776 Tradition”

Available by pre-order only: the 2025 vintage is limited to a maximum of two cases (6 bottles each) per client.