Château Larmande 2023

Plum, sour cherry and raspberry on the bouquet, topped with floral notes; a light-footed palate, crisp, fresh and elegant, with fine tannins and a rhubarb compote on the finish.

The 2023 Larmande is laced with expressive raspberry fruit, blood orange and crushed flowers. It offers lovely brightness to match the understated personality it showed en primeur. This mid-weight Saint-Émilion is a fine choice for drinking now and over the next dozen years or so. Tasted two times.

Flowers, high-toned, red fruits, spice, mint, and a touch of chocolate permeate the nose. The palate is round, creamy, fruity, and plush, with a stream of sweet, juicy, ripe, black raspberries, plums, and chocolate that steal the show. Drink from 2027-2040.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, clearer on the rim. Delicate notes of dried plums, ripe cherries, fine herbal savouriness, floral nuances, candied orange zest. Medium complexity, silky texture, round tannins, fine fruit on the finish, accessible style, a versatile food wine.

Clear spice from the opening beats, rich blueberry, damson and raspberry fruits, damson, chocolate and strongly charred oak. A welcome hint of orange peel freshness struggles to really lift things off.

Score: 92–94. A vibrant nose of tangy strawberries, beautifully accomplished, with aromas of purple rose and black iris. The palate is equally luminous: tangy red berries return, wrapped in a fluid, satiny texture that unfurls across the tongue like endless lengths of brushed silk. A delicious juiciness leads to a satisfying finish.

A lovely fresh, mineral, racy, fruity and linear nose. It shows notes of fresh/pulpy boysenberry, pulpy blackcurrant and, more lightly, ripe/fresh red berries, with touches of cornflower, fresh nutmeg, fine hints of infusion, a discreet hint of almost Timut pepper and an imperceptible almost sappy note. The palate is beautifully juicy, fruity, balanced, offering a fresh/tangy backbone, juiciness, smoothness, indulgence, and a delightful linear/elongated profile. It reveals notes of juicy/pulpy blackcurrant, fresh violet plum, with touches of lily and lilac, as well as hints of nutmeg, star anise/fresh licorice stick, small red berries and a subtle hint of infusion. The tannins are sapid, fresh, and discreetly sappy. Lovely freshness and minerality. All about precision, freshness and elegant classicism. Saline character

Packed full of ripe and perfumed black fruit flavours with fleshy tannins that fill the mouth. It stays just the right side of being too much however with a subtle sweetness as well as brightness. Liquorice, mint, chocolate and tobacco come in on the finish adding a spiced as well as mineral aspect that lingers. It feels a little shy right now, all the elements are a bit compact, needs time to open and settle a bit more.

Deep red colour with good intensity. Moderately aromatic nose, fruity and truffly. Soft, supple palate with a velvety, tender body, finishing perfumed with rounded, enveloping tannins. Average length. Overall, far more precise than in En Primeur.

One of the more discreet estates on the Right Bank, the 2023 Larmande has turned out very well, revealing aromas of dark berries, cassis, spices, rose petals and cherries. Medium- to full-bodied, round and supple, it is layered and harmonious, built around a lively core of fruit that extends into a long, perfumed finish. The blend comprises 78% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon.