Château Pédesclaux 2025

Dark aromas on the nose, fragrant purple flowers, tobacco, cedar, liquorice and black cherries – smells quite medicinal. Round and so well textured – smooth and friendly, this has such a gorgeous dollop of red fruit on the mid palate, a tiny bit chalky which is so enjoyable with such fine, delicate tannins but it’s the energy that I really like too. So well constructed and balanced. Less ‘strong’ than in some years, this is friendly and compelling. A fabulous wine. Concentration at the end, with the liquorice, tobacco and wet stones. Really quite impressive. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.68pH. 65 IPT. Ageing 50% new oak. Harvest 8-20 September.

Blackberries, flowers, cherries, tobacco, cedar and spice, along with a shot create the nose. The vibrant, round, juicy, lifted palate displays its sweet, fresh currants along with spices, sweet blackberries, and touches of sea-salt, which is perfect for the wine's creamy-tannins, and polished fruits. Give it a few years in the cellar, and enjoy it over the following 2 or more decades. The wine is blended using 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. 13% ABV. Drink from 2030-2060. 93-95 Pts

Juicy, enjoyable, slate, crayon, plenty of Pauillac character, good quality, manages to capture juice without biting acidity.

50% new barrels are used for the ageing of Pédesclaux, with some of the wine also matured in foudres, while the number of 400-litre barrels has been increased. Ideally, we would like to reach 20% in 400-litre barrels and foudres, explains Christophe Bonjour. With good intensity, the bouquet of Pédesclaux reveals classic nuances of cedar and graphite, complemented by notes of black berries and liquorice, then a touch of fresh wood. On the palate, the wine is smooth on the attack and has perfectly integrated tannins. Precise and powerful, they provide structure and reinforce the palate, together with the acidity that brings welcome freshness as well as a hint of salinity on the finish. 94-95

Deep black color with purple highlights. The nose is intense and refined, fruity, pure and vanilla-scented. Fleshy on the attack and highly aromatic through the mid-palate, with a rich texture and dense body, the wine carries through without losing its richness, leading to a long finish with fine-grained tannins. Remarkable handling of the vintage’s tannic power without diminishing the body. Bravo! Blend: 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Alcohol: 13° – pH: 3.68 – IPT: 65. Yield: 41 hl/ha.

Deep, with clear cassis fruit, followed by blackberry, fine woods and tea; a fresh, fruit-driven opening, incredibly crisp, building intensity and showing structure; the tannins are high quality, and the oak isn’t too dominant; a saline, balanced, lingering finish. An expressive Pauillac that combines ripeness and freshness.