Château Lilian Ladouys 2019

A full-bodied, spirited yet well-balanced, generously fruity LL that will appeal.

Lovely, expressive nose of sweet ripe fruits. The tannins are a bit too present at the moment; they take over and have a drying effect due to fairly high acidity. There is definitely a core of ripe dark fruits with herbal and liquorice edges, but this needs more time to integrate.

Sweet currant and berry aromas with some very floral notes follow through to a medium body, with firm and creamy tannins and a flavorful finish. I like the walnut and chocolate undertones. 59% merlot, 37% cabernet sauvignon, 3% petit verdot and 1% cabernet franc. Better after 2023.

The 2019 Lilian Ladouys offers ripe red berry fruit laced with pencil shavings and tobacco on the nose, but it feels just a little one-dimensional. The palate is better with ripe tannins, plenty of crisp black fruit, chalky in texture towards its sapid, quite uncompromising finish. For Claret die-hard fans. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Sporting a nice depth of color, the wine pops right off the bat with its nuances of black cherries, currants, thyme, mint, tobacco leaf, spice and smoke. Medium/full-bodied, fresh and vibrant, the fruits with its chocolate and minty overtones linger in the slightly, dusty, long finish. This will age and develop for at least 2 decades or more. Drink from 2025-2040.

A dark ruby red, with an opaque core, purple hues, a subtle brightening on the rim. Intense oak, dark berries, cassis, a hint of nougat. Medium bodied, subtle leafy notes, integrated tannins, a mineral finish, uncomplicated and enjoyable.

The wine shows a hint of mild oak; the nose feels rather Merlot, with sweet plum and red berry notes. The palate is fairly full, with fine roundness, digest and a supple finish with attractive fruit and good length.

This château continues to bring the goods, and their 2019 Château Lilian Ladouys offers a medium-bodied, supple, elegant, and certainly delicious style as well as complex notes of redcurrants, darker mulberries, cedary spice, and dried herbs. It shows the elegant, more mid-weight side to the vintage, yet the balance is spot on, it has ripe tannins, and it’s going to keep for 15+ years.

Purple with ruby reflections. Opulent wild-berry cocktail, followed by cocoa powder and cardamom, then violets and red plums. Mid-palate with a slender body and crumbly extract; the breed is (too) sharp and therefore distracting. Encapsulated finish with blue berries and juniper, rounded.

Kunz barrel sample 2020: spicy, velvety, fruity bouquet, black cherries, charcoal, tobacco, licorice. Powerful, rustic, aromatic palate with a muscular structure, intense dark aromatics, plenty of fine tannins, dark fruit, long, aromatic finish.

The 2019 Lilian Ladouys is a blend of 59% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with notes of tapenade and wild sage over a core of crushed blackcurrants and stewed plums with a waft of tree bark. The medium-bodied palate is chewy and muscular with a lively finish.

Deep in color and very expressive, with an upfront nose. The samples are of good quality. Showing steady improvement over the past three years and in the spirit of the brand’s first two vintages.

The 2019 unfolds a very lovely silkiness, with suave fruit and beautiful roundness. It’s a well-crafted wine, meant to be enjoyed fairly soon, yet also able to age a few years in the cellar. A good deal.

Impeccable balance and undeniable character. A nose full of personality—mignonette, rose, cedar—great minerality and a notable fruity presence; a flavorful, deep palate with truffled and menthol notes, complete and straightforward tannins, and great length. Very well balanced and truly full of character.

Logo on the cork: A in a circle (Amorim) Dark, intense color. Very aromatic nose with ripe, fresh fruit. Hint of blackcurrant. Precise on the attack, very flavorful mid-palate, with sweet nuances to the taste, a silky body, and the wine finishes juicy on a well-coated tannic frame, becoming even more aromatic. Estate on the rise.

This was the first vintage dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon—around two thirds—and the last for entrepreneur Christian Thiébot, who had invested heavily in the estate and renamed it Lilian Ladouys after his wife. It has retained a lovely freshness, with a mint-and-chocolate profile and silky tannins, plus just a slight touch of bitterness on the finish, no doubt due to a hint of under-ripeness in the Cabernets.

Spicy, velvety, fruity bouquet with black cherries, coal, tobacco and liquorice. Powerful, brawny, aromatic palate with a muscular structure, intense dark aromatics, plenty of fine tannins, dark fruit and a long, aromatic finish. 18/20 2026 - 2050

From a large, 113-acre estate, this wine is dense, structured and full of dark coffee and spice flavors allied to rich tannins. Blackberry fruits shine through this texture promising aging. Drink from 2026.