Le Carillon d'Angelus 2023

Gorgeous purple colour in the glass. Just-ripe cherries, cranberries and plums. Smells fresh and lively with some liquorice hints. Smooth and so lively, really lifted and pure with both sweet and crisp cranberries giving a mixture of tension but also great movement. Bitter orange touches add a spiced angle but also more character. Lovely tannin integration, this is fun, but stylish, very clean and precise. Great drinkability on offer. 3.6pH. Ageing 16 months, 60% new oak.

The 2023 Le Carillon d'Angélus has a fragrant and quite floral bouquet with black cherries, boysenberry and subtle violet scents that blossom in the glass. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pleasing tension on the entry. This has a fine bead of acidity, quite linear in style, with sufficient sapidity on the finish to tempt you back for another sip. Give this a couple of years in bottle, then enjoy over the next 15 years.

The floral bouquet and basket of cherries on the nose will get any taster interested in what comes next. The medium-bodied palate is soft, polished, vibrant, and filled with red pit fruits, along with a judicious touch of spice you taste and feel from the mid-palate through the finish, and a hint of refreshing mint on the back end. The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2040.

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections. Ripe red cherries, a hint of plums, subtle herbal notes, candied orange zest. Juicy, elegant, delicate fruit, pleasant acidity, complex, mineral, good length, a full-bodied food wine.

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 48 h/ha. Delicate red-berry bouquet, violet, blood orange zest and blackcurrant nectar. On the sublime palate with a silky texture, balanced verve and sinewy body, incredibly pure and precise. In the concentrated, long finish with morello cherry, feminine, light graphite and fine-grained extract.

Bright violet and plum colour, vibrating with life, an easy wine to recommend and no doubt to drink; I love the depth and the rich damson fruit expression that combines with dark chocolate, liquorice and cocoa, with a juicy finish.

Even though CF accounts for only 10%, its impact is well above that proportion! The floral notes enhance the aromatic expression with superb definition, and ultimately plenty of fruit. On the palate, the wine combines precision and drive while favouring finesse. A sapid, elegant, crisp wine, already approachable, with a mouth-watering finish.

93-95. Barrel Sample. This wine has bright red-fruit and spice aromas. Generous tannins and rich black fruits go with the structure of this fine second wine. It has concentration and a real juicy acidity that balances the tannins.

Ripe-fruited and floral, almost reminiscent of a Nebbiolo, with notes of grape pomace, sour cherries and spice; on the palate it starts off soft and creamy, then the tannins tighten their grip, well-structured, building momentum while staying elegant, with a finely spicy, red-fruited finish. A wine that will give pleasure relatively early, yet has reserves.

Logo on the cork: AL A lovely deep red. An intense, very fruity nose. Notes of strawberry and truffle. Juicy on the attack, very flavoursome on the mid-palate, with a silky texture, the wine finishes long with sophisticated flavours. It is very good.

Elegantly toasty, with a subtle note of gentian, the 2023 Le Carillon d'Angélus opens in the glass after aeration to reveal aromas of dark wild berries, cassis and flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, it is enveloping and juicy, offering good depth at the core and framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a fresh, fruit-driven finish.