Château Saint-Pierre 2024

Lovely aromatics on the nose, full and vivid, perfumed violets and vibrant plums with hints of sweetness and black chocolate. Ripe and concentrated fruit, clean and softly fleshy, tannins have a fine grip, smartly integrated with juicy acidity that gives a tangy bite. It’s smooth with personality and a feeling of sophistication. Ageing will help add some volume as well as finesse to the tannins with 22-25% ageing in terracotta amphora and 30% new oak. There’s intensity for sure and an underlying dark serious amount of power. Ends fresh and liquorice. Good potential. 3.70pH.

Flowers, black cherries, and licorice pop in the nose. The wine is medium-bodied, bright, fresh, and refined, with sweetness, lift, and touches of licorice, strawberries, cocoa, and dried herbs in the mid-palate, as well as in the finish. The wine blends 85% Merlot, with 15% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% ABV. 10% of the wine is whole-bunch fermented. Drink from 2027-2040. 92-94 pts. 92-94 pts

The nose is fruity, offering a lovely gentle intensity, fine concentration, and a delicate floral side. It reveals notes of fleshy strawberry, pulpy blackberry and, more lightly, violet, with touches of pulpy plum, as well as fine hints of cornflower, almost infusion-like nuances, and a subtle hint of star anise. The palate is well-shaped, juicy, slightly pulpy, and offers a certain freshness and a tangy backbone. It shows notes of juicy/fleshy blackcurrant, fleshy cherry and, more lightly, cornflower, combined with touches of small blue fruits, a hint of crushed raspberry, as well as fine chocolate hints, a subtle touch of blond tobacco and lilac. Good length. The tannins are supple and gourmand. A very discreet, almost vanilla hint on the finish/persistence. Lovely freshness. A subtle iodized note, and an almost blood-orange touch in the background, bringing great delicacy and intensity.

This has slim blueberry fruits, leafy and sinewy, with plenty of savoury character, and a juicy finish. The satin tannins of Pomerol are just about in evidence, if a little on the slim side. 3ha estate, Pradel de Lavaux family, (2ha in this wine, taking out the sandier section), 80% sold En Primeur. Well located on the Pomerol plateau across several small plots. 35% new oak and 25% in terracotta amphora (first time for it to be this high), current owner joined in 2014 but the estate has been in the family since 1920. 10% whole bunch ferment.

Beautiful deep red, intense. Moderately aromatic nose, with a slightly lively fruitiness. Delicate on the attack, silky mid-palate, with a fine texture, the wine glides into the finish where it scores points thanks to the subtlety of its aromatic density. It is long and very good. Blend: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol content: 13.5% – pH: 3.70.