Château d'Aiguilhe 2018

Exceptionally fruity bouquet of red and black berries; on the palate, balanced, smooth, truly refreshing, with ideal length; a pleasing, impeccably vinified wine with guaranteed enjoyment.

Fresh, pure and direct, with streamlined cherry and red currant fruit carried by fresh acidity, backed with tobacco and earth notes. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2025. 25,000 cases made.

Austere, textbook limestone flavours, given a plump mid-palate by damson and black cherry fruits. Owned by Stephan von Neipperg.

The purity of fruit here is really attractive, with blue fruit, blackberries and flowers on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with fine tannins, a solid core of fruit and a long, attractive finish. Drink from 2022 onwards.

The 2018 d’Aiguilhe was picked from September 25 to October 5 at 45hl/ha, and matured in 20% new oak. It has an attractive nose of blackberry, mulberry and still those chestnut aromas, though thankfully there is no overripeness now. The palate is soft and sensual on the opening, with grainy tannins framing cedar-tinged red fruit laced with clove and a little garrigue toward the finish. Not bad at all, though it needs a bit more energy.

Deeply colored, the wine is loaded with licorice, flowers, truffle, blackberry and plum on the nose. On the palate, the wine is rich, supple, round and fleshy, with freshness and density on the palate. There is purity in the fruit and length in the finish which provides you with sensuous red pit fruits, silky tannins, licorice, cherries, cocoa and crushed rock sensations. The harvest took place September 18 to October 5. 93-95 Pts

Readers looking for a beautiful Bordeaux that's not going to break the bank should check out the 2018 Château D'Auguilhe. Coming from the cooler Castillon region to the east of Saint-Emilion, this beauty offers a terrific perfume of ripe black raspberries, cherries, roasted herbs, sweet mulch, and spring flowers. It has a fresh, crunchy quality to its fruit, nicely integrated acidity, ripe yet present tannins, and the class to keep for 10-15 years.

The 2018 d’Aiguilhe is deep garnet-purple in color. It offers lifted notes of kirsch, blackberry pie, and plum preserves, with an earthy undercurrent and a waft of cedar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has firm, rounded tannins, with lovely freshness and fruit following through to the finish.

Fruit shaped by a racy, taut vintage, with delicately crafted oak notes on a refined, aristocratic palate. The fruit’s delicate tension leads to a subtle licorice-tinged finish with fine tannins.

The nose is fruity, elegant and offers fleshiness, delicate indulgence, a very lovely fruit quality, a certain aromatic purity and very fine richness. It reveals notes of bright cassis, bright black plum and, more subtly, licorice, combined with hints of cornflower, small blue fruits, as well as fine touches of sweet spices and a very discreet hint of blond tobacco in the background. The palate is fruity, racy and offers minerality, juiciness, charming gourmandise, a beautiful definition of the fruit and suavity. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of bright cassis, bright blueberry and, more subtly, crushed raspberry, combined with a touch of bright blue plum as well as very fine hints of licorice, lilac, racy minerality and a subtle hint of blond tobacco leaf. A very lovely wine, one of the greatest vintages of Aiguilhe. The tannins are very finely firm.

This cru is no longer what it was in the late 2000s. My scores have been declining since 2015. In 2018, its fruit is overripe and the palate is light.

Kunz barrel sample 19: (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 45 hl/ha) Dense, fresh, creamy, sweet bouquet of cherry compote, blueberries, mint, cedar, graphite. Creamy, fresh, sweet, powerful, fruity palate with finely opulent fruit, plenty of fine tannins, varied sweet aromatics, dense structure, and a long, fresh finish.

Under the same ownership as Canon la Gaffelière in Saint-Emilion, this estate has produced a powerfully rich wine, with tannins cushioned by dense black-plum flavors. Rich in structure and driven by fruit, the wine will age well. Drink from 2023.