Château Lilian Ladouys 2021

Restrained, with air floral tones, leaf, red berries, herbs. Fine-boned palate, delicate fruit, elegant, almost Burgundian, cool expression, medium-length finish. Vinified with finesse for medium ripeness.

Round and almost fleshy, this has a nice, filling texture with sweet, sour and sharp fruit—lovely bright and fresh raspberries and strawberries with tangy blueberries and cooling mint, plus wet stones giving minerality. Still quite a lean wine, streamlined and finessed—not layered or weighty, but well presented and easy to enjoy. This will also age, as it still feels a little young and tight.

This shows aromas of light plums and redcurrants with white pepper and cloves. Medium body, firm and fine tannins with a racy and fresh finish. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Pleasant now but has aging potential. Drink or hold.

Tasted blind. Rich, sweet and complete; I could almost swallow this, but it’s a bit dry on the finish. (JR)

The 2021 Lilian Ladouys needs a little coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing black fruit, briar, cedar and tobacco scents, perhaps just a little rustic compared to other vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannins, a little austere compared to its barrel sample, and it just attenuates toward the finish. This is not a bad Saint-Estèphe by any means, though it’s not the best in recent years. A second bottle feels disjointed compared to the first.

Bright red fruits, spice, flowers, black cherries and cocoa define the perfume. The palate is soft, polished, fresh, lively and loaded with black cherries, chalky tannins, chocolate and peppery spice in the round finish. The wine blends 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2025-2040.

Dark garnet with purple hues. Black cherries, a hint of cranberries, tobacco, a touch of nougat. Medium-bodied, red berry fruit, fresh, well-structured, vivid tannins, delicate herbal savouriness on the finish, mineral back palate.

A rocking, upfront, textured, medium-bodied effort, the 2021 Château Lilian Ladouys offers lots of both red and black fruits, some spicy, herbal notes, fine tannins, and outstanding length. Based on 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, it's a pleasure-bent, balanced, impeccably made Saint-Estèphe that will evolve for 10-15 years.

Invigorating red-berry bouquet, raspberry juice, cooled fruit tea and blackcurrant drops. On the juicy palate with a creamy texture, fine-grained extract richness, supportive vigor and a tightly knit body. In the aromatic finish, red berries again, light tobacco and finely sandy astringency.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc) Silky, sweet, fruity, finely creamy bouquet, black cherries, blackberries, liquorice, cold smoke. Dense, creamy, fresh palate with powerful, refined fruit, dark, sweet aromatics, creamy structure, fine tannins, long, vigorous finish. Has room to improve.

(53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc) Velvety, sweet, fruity, finely creamy bouquet, black cherries, blackberries, licorice, cold smoke. Dense, creamy, fresh palate with powerful, precise fruit, dark, sweet aromatics, creamy structure, fine tannins, long, powerful finish. Can still improve. 17/20 2028 - 2055

Great aromatics, welcoming and smoky, fresh acidities wrapped in berry fruit, with oyster shell salted cracker salinity. A good medium-term drinker. Organic conversion began in 2020, with 100% organic for the first time in 2021, and certification expected in 2024. Lorenzetti family owners, Eric Boissenot consultant.

The 2021 Lilian Ladouys is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It rolls out with evocative notes of plum preserves and juicy raspberries, followed by suggestions of red roses, wild sage, and iron ore. The medium-bodied palate is soft and juicy, with just enough freshness and a fruity finish.

Sweet, slender fruit on the nose. Charming on the palate, still focused on small pink berries, with lovely fluidity and elegant oak.

Floral and fruity, Lilian Ladouys shows a beautiful harmony between red and black fruits, followed by garrigue notes and licorice. Juicy, elegant and linear, the wine has powerful, well-integrated tannins. A refreshing tension on the finish highlights the fruit expression. A true tightrope walker, carried by its tannins, energizing structure and roaming finesse.

The nose offers power, good definition, a certain depth and intensity. It reveals notes of pepper and ripe blackcurrant, with subtler hints of pulpy wild strawberry, complemented by touches of lilac, a refined minerality, fine accents of blond tobacco and varietal nuances, a hint of Bourbon vanilla pod and a subtle touch of fresh hazelnut in the background. The palate is fruity and fresh, delivering minerality, a zesty acid backbone, precision, tension and elegance, with a persistent acid thread. On the palate, this wine shows notes of fresh blackberry and raspberry, and, more lightly, fresh lilac/lily, joined by touches of crunchy red berries as well as fine hints of star anise and iodine, and a discreet varietal note in the background, with good length. The tannins are precise and slightly supple, with a well-judged bitterness.

A lovely, lively wine. The finish is a little firmer than before. Let it wait.

The 2021 Lilian Ladouys exhibits aromas of dark berries, dried petals and spices, followed by a medium-bodied, lively and supple palate that concludes with a menthol-inflected finish.