Château Le Bon Pasteur 2023

Fresh, floral, cool fireplace, red fruit, dried herbs; austere palate, fresh, lively, grainy tannins, fine acidity, fresh red-fruited finish. Built for mid-term ageing.

Super fragrant and alive on the nose, floral, ripe black fruits. Juicy and so clean, clearly ripe but with a lovely texture to the tannins, grippy, almost chewy, with licks of slate, minerality, graphite and dark chocolate. I love the interplay between menthol, bitter dark chocolate and ripe blackcurrants. Still a touch coiled on the finish, but this has good potential. Great mouthfeel, very Pomerol, with a strong, liquorice and herbal finish. Will be interesting to see after ageing. Ageing 50% new oak. 50% grand vin production.

The 2023 Le Bon Pasteur has come together over time. Black cherry, plum, mocha, espresso, licorice, chocolate and lavender soar from the glass. In recent years, the team here has given the wine a bit more freshness than in the past. It's an approach that works so well. As always, Le Bon Pasteur is a distinctive Pomerol because nearly 50% of the vineyards are in Saint-Émilion.

The sweet, red cherries are what you initially notice before getting to the chocolate and flowers in the nose. The palate, however, steals the show with its sensuous, supple, creamy-textured finish that's perfect for delivering all the sweet, fresh red fruits, chocolate, and a hint of espresso. The character here leads to a wine that can be enjoyed in its youth. But it can age for 2 decades as well. The wine blends 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2045.

Dark ruby colour, deep core, brightening on the rim. Black cherries, wild berries, floral nuances, hints of mandarin zest. Medium complexity, blackberry confit, vivid tannins, herbal and spicy finish, mineral and salty aftertaste.

Restrained bouquet, sandalwood, delicate blueberry contours and light tobacco. On the compact palate, a tight, demanding tannic corset, a firm texture and a straight-lined body. In the long, concentrated finish, wild cherry, sloe juice and dark minerality. Rounded off.

Score: 92–94. Pure, shimmering red-fruit aromas, perfectly ripe, promise succulence on the nose. The palate, creamy and comforting, delivers on that promise with a fleshy, dense texture and velvety tannins. You can almost feel the pulp of the small red and black fruits adding chew.

Sweet, silky and accomplished, with black cherry and damson fruit, charred turmeric and clove spice, appellation typicity, 40hl/ha yield, Rolland et Associés consultants.

Inky dark purple core and hue. Fine toast with notes of coffee bean and butterscotch, floral violet hints, raspberry, cassis, and blackberry. Dense yet rounded palate, ample red fruit with floral overtones, seemingly sweet fruit but remaining dry, fine extraction and grainy tannin with a good sense of freshness leading to a very long and pure finish.

Velvety in feel, with forward notes of black cherry and blackberry preserves infused with black tea. Modest in scale but focused and seductive through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2035. 1,900 cases made, 475 cases imported.