Château Balestard La Tonnelle 2023

Intense nose, showing red fruit, plum and dark chocolate, with sour cherries on the bouquet; on the palate, fruit-forward, with ripe tannins, a medium body, already very approachable and pleasantly lingering. Will give pleasure early on, yet can age.

For too many years, this estate featured excessive oak extraction and drying tannins, but not in this vintage—and I say bravo. There is ripe fruit, smooth tannins, a rather juicy mid-palate and a medium finish. While it does not match the upper echelons among the Grands Crus Classés in St-Emilion for seashell-like freshness and minerality, it is a solid wine.

57% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cask sample. Bright crimson hue. Fresh and zesty on the nose. Round on attack. Lighter mid palate with a touch of fine oak. Should take on more weight in bottle. (JL)

The combination of red fruits, flowers, and espresso in the nose works well here. Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh, with good energy, minerality, and a hint of chocolate that adds to the lingering sweet, vibrant, red fruits from the mid-palate to the finish. Drink from 2027-2040.

Dark ruby, deep core, purple reflections. Ripe black berries, dark cherries, fine oak spice. Juicy, ripe fruitiness, hints of dried fruit, ripe tannins, fresh acidity, salty finish, a versatile food wine.

Glass-staining plum, very much on song for a St Emilion Grand Cru Classé, with a silky texture visually reflecting an alcohol level that is relatively high for the vintage. Exuberant damson fruit, grilled cedar, liqourice, espresso, cocoa bean, orange peel, sleek, confident, estate signature, although you can find fresher 2023s. 36hl/ha yield.

Score: 89-91. A slightly reductive nose that opens up to aromas of very ripe dark fruits and Black Forest cake. The palate is all finesse and elegance, with a delicately bitter note of black cherry and a creamy, satiny texture. A wine that is already well in place and just waiting to express itself.

Complex and subtle, the bouquet of Balestard La Tonnelle shines, drawing on the strengths of its great terroirs with priority given to freshness and clarity and (at last) a nuanced touch of oak as a guiding thread. The finesse claimed by the bouquet carries through to the attack. The wine is sleek, airy and linear. It can rely on a structuring, almost incisive acidity and on velvety tannins that are nevertheless real and well-judged. The result is a harmony rarely seen at Balestard over the past 20 years. A wine that reflects renewed ambition, with freshness and finesse firmly in its sights. What a journey!

A beautiful deep red color. Intense nose with ripe fruit aromas. Juicy from the very first sip, the wine is immediately flavorful. It develops with a silky texture and stretches out long and full of sap. Very good.