Château Villemaurine 2024

Expansive nose of violets, orange blossom, blackberry and dark chocolate, underpinned by cool, stony minerality; finely structured on the palate, delicate fruit, pronounced, powdery tannins, a red-fruited, subtly acid-driven finish on blood orange. A fresh Saint-Emilion that represents the vintage well.

Lifted and friendly, this is quite focused on the acidity — not lean but bright and tangy. The tannins are really in the background; this is precise and detailed with good definition all the way through. It’s not exactly charming, but it has good character with long length and wonderfully detailed saline, iodine and oyster shell salinity on the finish. There’s no doubt some glossiness to this. A good job here, I think. 3.40 pH. 65 IPT. A yield of 41 hl/ha. Ageing 75% new oak.

83% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cask sample. Robust and a little chunky. A bit too much extraction. Chewy tannins with a dry finish. Falls away. (JL)

Licorice, smoke, espresso, chocolate, and black cherry aromatics open the perfume getting the wine started. On the palate, the wine is rich, deep, long, creamy, and most importantly, fresh. The fruits provide length, suppleness, and character, finishing with salty accents, and minty nuances that you find as the wine lingers. Refined, and concentrated, you can enjoy this with just a year or two of aging. The wine blends 83% Merlot with 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.2% ABV. Harvesting took place September 25 - October 7. Drink from 2028-2040. 93-95 Pts

A toasted oak character opens on the nose, accompanied by aromas of bitter orange peel and ripe purple fruits, giving an elegant, dark profile. This elegance carries through to a fresh, supple, even velvety texture, despite a finish dominated by acidity.

The nose is aromatic, with a toasted edge and a lovely texture. It reveals notes of blackberry, graphene, and, more subtly, wild strawberry, combined with touches of fairly ripe red berries, as well as hints of infusion, nutmeg, and a touch of toasted almond. The palate is finely crafted, offering suppleness, juiciness, a tangy backbone, energy, and good definition. It also shows a certain accuracy, purity of fruit, and a fine, racy grain. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy/pulpy blackcurrant and small red berries, and more subtly, juicy/tangy cherry, combined with touches of lilac, star anise, infusion, and nutmeg. Good length and definition. The tannins are precise and mellow. A wine offering juiciness, acidity, and a touch of brightness.

Takes its time to unroll, has some of the austerity of its location slap bang on the limestone plateau, but this is an enjoyable wine, softly spoken black and red fruits, acidity is gripping for certain but not overpowering, and there is a juicy pomegranate and salted cracker finish. Good potential here. 3.4 pH, 65 IPT, harvest 27 September to 7 October. 41 hl/ha yield, 75% new oak for ageing.

Deep black colour with garnet highlights. An intense nose of ripe fruit, developing into a suave bouquet in the glass. Precise on the attack, very aromatic on the mid-palate, with a structure never seen so velvety; the wine caresses, then rises into a long, well-knit and powerful finish. Superb! Here is a new version of this estate that has never stopped changing hands, without ever finding its master. Now it has. Blend: 83% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Alcohol: 13% – pH: 3.4 – IPT: 65. Yield: 40 hl/ha. Production: 33,000 bottles.