Château Marquis d'Alesme 2023

Still waters run deep; closed, dark fruit, cool expression; juicy on the palate, beautiful tension, excellent balance and length. Finer than last year.

Beautiful fragrance: roses, strawberries, milk chocolate, freshly cut mint leaves, and blueberries too. Smells cool and full of life. Super tart with high acidity, searing red berries, crunchy and bright, cranberry and strawberry with just-ripe red cherries. It’s tangy but well aligned, with a sense of balance between the acidity, super-integrated tannins, and a long finish. Taut and streamlined, suiting the vintage with lots of cool classicism and freshness. Juicy and lean. Crystalline. Ageing should suit this. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend.

Cask sample. Perfumed nose. Supple fruit with polished tannins. Some persistence. Lacks a little depth but correct. (JL)

The 2023 Marquis d'Alesme is sleek and silky right out of the gate. Dark blue-toned fruit, lavender, mocha, licorice and crushed flowers all grace the palate. Margaux at its most delicate.

Flowers, black cherries, chocolate, blackberries, and mint leaf create the aromatics. The palate is even better with its lush, creamy, elegant waves of sweet, ripe, dark red pit fruits and chocolate. The wine blends 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2045.

Strong ruby, purple reflections, brightening on the rim. Restrained aromas, delicate cherry fruit, some plums, a hint of orange zest. Medium body, red-berried and fresh, clean, a lean food wine, will be accessible early.

Grip and tension, with tomato leaf, peony, lemongrass, slate, pummice stone, spiced plum and damson fruit; not the ink of Cabernet in the northern Médoc, but caressing and full of fragrant pleasure. Aged with 45% new oak, and further proof that this estate is becoming one of the quiet scene-stealers of the Margaux appellation.