Château Talbot 2010

One of the best Talbot in recent years, and possibly the best since 1986 and 1982, this sexy juggernaut of a wine strides forth with an opaque plum/ruby/purple color and terrific notes of crème de cassis, licorice, roasted herbs, and smoky barbecue. It’s a brilliant effort, with full body, wonderful fruit, a savory, expansive mouthfeel, sensational texture, and a long finish, but no hardness or astringency. This is a fabulous Talbot to drink over the next 20–25 years.

This features a fairly plump core of crushed plum, blackberry and mulled boysenberry notes, coated with tar and driven by a strong graphite accent. An echo of pastis lingers on the finish, displaying good latent grip. Best from 2015 through 2027. 32,791 cases made.

Rich, vibrant nose. Milk chocolate, cherries and soft floral scents. Bouncy and grippy. A lovely bright aspect but with quite a serious, streamlined core, so you get cool, fresh blueberry and tangy raspberry fruit with high acidity married to lean, mineral-edged, straight tannins. Subtle weight and good structure. Flavour goes all the way to a long finish, though it’s marked by quite a mineral, salty, liquorice edge.

There's a real purity of fruit here with currant and blueberry aromas coming out in the glass. Full body, with fine tannins and a fresh and clean acidity. Very polished tannins. It's all about balance and drinkability here. Try in 2018.

Unusual aroma, with a lack of freshness and something slightly feral in tone. Lacks purity. (RH)

The 2010 Talbot is consistent with the vertical in December 2018 with blackberry and briary on the nose, not quite clicking into fifth gear but nicely poised. The palate is very well balanced with cedar- and graphite-infused black fruit leading to a conservative, “correct” finish. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

2010 Talbot Using 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, the wine offers cassis, earth and tobacco scents. Medium to full-bodied, the cassis-filled finish shows a hint of green notes at the end. 88-90 pts

Medium to dark ruby with slight evolution; the nose is slightly on the rustic side with leather and animal notes, herbs and sweet plum; the palate shows good density with generous fruit, youthful tannins and a fairly long finish; an attractive, traditional style.

Deep purple. Cool bouquet, plum skin, clove buds, tobacco leaf, cedar and black peppercorns, medium intensity. Very elegant and fine on the palate, already harmonious with a lovely length.

Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet glints at the rim. Cool bouquet, plum skin, clove buds, tobacco leaf, cedar and black peppercorns, medium push. Very elegant and fine (light?) on the palate, already harmonious with good length, comes across as somewhat gentle and restrained, yet very well made. (17/20). 12: Medium garnet with a bluish sheen. The bouquet is idiosyncratic and almost needs explaining: on the one hand blueberries, ribwort plantain, but also leafy notes, a hint of geraniol and gooseberry bush. On the palate it makes up for quite a lot, showing licorice, black peppercorns and Brazil tobacco on the finish, unfortunately a faint bitterness on the aftertaste. Better than earlier vintages, but still not at the expected Talbot level.

Deep, spicy, powerful bouquet with tobacco, cherries, fine fermentation notes, currants, cedar. Powerful, broad, dense palate with good, fresh fruit, plenty of fine tannins, generous aromatics, full finish. Can still improve. 17/20 2018 - 2034

Darker fruit than the Talbot 2009, and more closed in its architecture, showing that both of these wines really encapsulate the vintage character. Solid, muscular, impressive, well textured, with a slab of bitter chocolate cutting through the fruits on the finish.

An opulent, toasty Talbot with lovely notes of wild blackberry on the nose. On the palate, it is graceful, offering plenty of volume without heaviness. Dark tannins lend a beautiful, contrasting texture on the finish: the wine, initially so light, ends on an enticing, ink-black finish.

Garnet red with subtle violet highlights. An elegant, fruity, complex bouquet with notes of black berries and minerality. On the palate, the wine is tasty, juicy, compact, and endowed with a structure in perfect symbiosis with the tannins. The latter gradually reveal themselves, providing a fine backbone to the wine as a whole. A refreshing, lingering finish.

Dark, intense and beautiful color. Reserved yet fruity nose, with a hint of ink. The palate is appealing for its ample character from the very first attack. The wine develops with sap, very fruity and now well-structured. Tasty finish, slightly tannic but long.

The nose is elegant, finely tight, delicate, and offers power, freshness, and a touch of concentration. This wine benefits from decanting. It reveals notes of fairly ripe blackberry, ripe raspberry and, more slightly, wild berries, combined with hints of crushed small berries and violet, as well as a touch of plum, racy minerality, iodine, Sichuan pepper, discreet hints of blond tobacco, spices, and ripe almond. The palate is fruity, fresh, mineral, balanced, racy, and offers a fresh backbone, lovely definition, well-judged concentration, subtle richness, silkiness, indulgence, and good structure. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of crushed blackberry and crushed strawberry and, more slightly, fairly ripe blackcurrant, combined with touches of violet, lily, and chocolate, as well as hints of crushed plum, tonka bean, cardamom, grey pepper, a very discreet toasty note, vanilla, and tobacco. Good length. The tannins are precise, fine, and offer a touch of uprightness.

This wine shows black currant fruit, with just the right balancing acidity. Talbot is progressing well in its quest to bring out its fine terroir.