Chateau Prieure-Lichine Grand Cru

Château Prieuré-Lichine is a fourth growth from the 1855 classification in Margaux, owned for decades by the Lichine family behind Whispering Angel. The wine is a Cabernet-led blend with Merlot and Petit Verdot: blackberry, violet, a graphite edge, and a medium-bodied, elegant finish. For a Bordeaux wine gift, a classified Margaux is about as safe as the category gets.

Send it to senior clients, attorneys, bankers, and anyone whose idea of serious wine was formed by France.

• Grand Cru Classé and Margaux on one label need no explaining.
• Many recipients know Whispering Angel; this château is where that family started.
• Classified Bordeaux stands out in a stack of California Cabernets.
• Refined and mid-weight, it suits recipients who find big Napa reds too much.

Add Prieuré-Lichine to your list and Prime Wines delivers every bottle gift-wrapped across the US and Canada on one invoice.

Is Château Prieuré-Lichine a good Bordeaux wine gift?

One of the safer classified choices on our list. Margaux is the most famous Médoc name after the first growths, and the British wine magazine Decanter has written that the estate performs above its fourth-growth rank.

Should the recipient decant or cellar Prieuré-Lichine?

Either works. A few hours in a decanter readies it for dinner this weekend, and the structure will carry it for years if they'd rather wait. There's no wrong answer.