Château d'Issan 2019

Restrained, youthful aromatics; reveals great density and first-class tannins with verve, very long; absolutely needs to age to show its full class.

Stylish nose, feels polished and poised. A svelte style with satiny tannins and such depth of flavour—intense but nuanced, with perfumed edges and red and black cherry flavours. You feel the sculpting of the fruit; there are layers of flavour with good support around the edges and softly chewy tannins. Such a long finish too—it really goes on and on. I love it; you get the power without doubt, but it’s very neatly packaged right now, with a smoothness and clarity that’s impressive.

Fresh currants and raspberries pop out of the glass, together with oranges and cedar. Such purity of fruit on the nose. Full-bodied, yet so refined and vertical. It goes deep and long with tight, compressed tannins that are pure and exciting. Really tight and focused. Precise. Try after 2026.

The 2019 d'Issan is a beautifully complex wine. The aromatics alone are beguiling, but that is just the beginning. Readers will find a powerful, layered Issan that is going to need at least a few years to start shedding some of its formidable tannin. Hints of dried rose petal, mint, blood orange, spice and star anise give the 2019 its gorgeous, beautifully lifted personality. Give this a few years, and watch what happens.

d'Issan has been on a roll lately with 2019 marking another step-up in quality. The wine is full-bodied, silky, fresh, vibrant, pure and lively. The nose is packed with wet earth, herbs, flowers, tobacco, espresso and ripe, sweet, red berries. There is serious lift and energy here with a finish that lingers, giving you more time to spend with all of its graceful, lifted, pure, sweet, fresh plums, blackberries, spice and currants. This will age and evolve for at least 2-3 decades.

Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Restrained bouquet, a hint of dried plums, fine herbal savoriness, tobacco nuances. Medium complexity, red-berry texture, integrated tannins, subtle sweetness on the finish, still lacks proper length, needs more time.

Pure cassis, graphite, violets, damp earth, and chocolate notes all emerge from the 2019 Château D'Issan, a richer, medium- to full-bodied, powerful Margaux. It develops a gorgeous sense of minerality with time in the glass, has plenty of mid-palate oomph, integrated oak, and just terrific overall balance. It's a stunning success in the vintage in Margaux, which was one of the more challenging in the vintage. This will round into form with just 4-5 years of bottle age and cruise for two decades or more. Bravo.

Purple with ruby highlights. Spicy, fruity bouquet with Brazilian tobacco, dark fine woods and ripe plums, followed by cloves and redcurrant juice. On the palate, firm and fine with a supporting tannic structure, delicately crumbly extract, subtle astringency. Focused finish with black-berry contours, dark minerality and juniper. Patience is required. It can still improve!

Kunz barrel sample 2020: herbs, restrained bouquet, currants, cherries, wood, tobacco. Firm, bourgeois palate with sandy tannins, light aromatics, angular structure, delicate fruit, dry finish.

Light, austere bouquet, red blackberries, wood, smoke. Crisp, slender palate with sandy tannins, bony structure, little aromatics, light fruit, dry finish. 16/20 2024 - 2035

The bigger, more structured Margaux have shut down with ageing, as is the case here with Issan – less exuberant than during En Primeur, but showing concentration, controlled power and beautiful cassis and bilberry fruit. Skilful, deft weaving of tannins and fresh acidity to cradle the fruit, with a voluptuous, creamy mid-palate as it opens. Impressive depth, decades of life ahead. 50% new oak, 45% of overall production. Harvest from September 25 to October 11.

The 2019 d’Issan has a deep garnet-purple color. It features notes of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, and cassis, with nuances of tobacco leaf and cedar. The medium-bodied palate is chewy and refreshing, with soft-spoken fruit and an earthy finish.

A fresh wine that dances in the nose with its bouquet of rose, red-fruit medley, and blueberry tart. Delicious on the palate, it is mouthwatering, juicy, sappy and dynamic, noble and pure. The tannins are elegant and well-integrated.

Issan’s bouquet reveals multiple, subtle facets. Pleasant hints of cocoa and caramel are followed by fruity and mineral notes. On the palate, the wine is imposing—not through sheer power, but through the quiet strength that defines it. It is serene, broad, and fresh. Its velvety tannins are powerful, while the acidity provides energy and pep. A great success.

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases) Dark, beautiful, intense, and purple color. Very aromatic nose—refined, fruity, and subtle. Hints of blackberry jelly. Delicate on the attack, very flavorful mid-palate, with one of the most subtle profiles in the Margaux appellation; the wine develops juicy, silky to the touch, and even complex between the mid-palate and the finish, where it keeps bouncing back, with a very refined mouthfeel in which, never, ever, does the tannin show. A build crafted in the footsteps of the greats. Bravo!