Clos du Marquis 2023

Slightly restrained, with depth and dark fruit, smoky notes, cedar, and tobacco; densely built, with structure and grip, fine-grained tannins, very good acidity; fresh, lively, with tension and a mineral-driven finish. Will age beautifully.

Great aromatics, fresh and lively but deep and opulent too – ripe blackcurrant and plum with some cool blueberries. Smooth and sumptuous, classy and finessed. A complete wine – this has structure and a certain level of power but with such fine tannins, almost creamy. Layered and complex but effortless in its construction. Really beautifully delivered. Crunchy, but chalky, some minerality and mouthwatering acidity. Brilliant harmony and balance and sense of weight in terms of texture. 3.69pH.

The 2023 Clos du Marquis, raised in 50% new oak for 16 months, takes a few moments to really open in the glass, but it reveals satisfying fruit concentration, with blackberry, cedar and light cigar box scents unfurling in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with quite a feisty opening, bright and sharp, with a keen line of acidity that counters that ripe red fruit. Gentle grip but quite persistent on the finish, this is a very fine, perhaps more approachable Clos du Marquis.

56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% vol., pH 3.69, 44 hl/ha. Densely interwoven blueberry bouquet, noble cassis spice, dark graphite, and beguiling violet perfume. On the taut palate, very straight-lined, with black-berry contours, deep terroir spice, and a well-toned body. In the concentrated, long finish, wild cherry paired with peppery extract – a complex and complete Clos du Marquis this year.

Squid ink, cassis, bilberry, roses; love the intensity and gorgeous salinity of this wine. It captures the sense of energy and florality in the best Cabernets of 2023, while retaining the austerity you expect from this site in its early years. First vintage in the new cellars, moving from 40 vats to 80 vats, with 30 microvinification vats. Harvest from September 6 to October 5, 50% new oak for ageing, yields of 44 hl/ha.

Score: 92–94. A decadent nose that evokes the opulence and grandeur of a Louis XIV salon, with velvet chaise longues, overflowing fruit baskets, and extravagant floral arrangements. Dense and caressing on the palate, it reveals notes of fruit, smoke, rose petals, and tobacco leaf, leading to a complex, generous finish.

Espresso, cigar box, blackberries, dark red pit fruits, and flowers fill the perfume. The wine is medium-bodied, refreshing, chewy, and vivid, with a crispness and energy to the salt-edged, currant finish. The wine was made from a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2027-2042.

94-96. Barrel Sample. The acidity shines through the wine with its black-cherry aroma. From a single large parcel close to the Gironde estuary, the wine has an elegance that is very Saint-Julien. It is juicy, with the Cabernet Sauvignon showing well and dominating the wine.

This is solid, with cassis and boysenberry puree flavors stitched together with lightly singed apple wood, dried anise and black tea notes. A strong graphite edge drives the finish. There’s no bombast at all, though, just focus and definition. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2027 through 2039.