2023 Château Petit-Village, Pomerol

The 2023 Petit-Village emerges from the eastern blocks on the property—in other words, those on the Pomerol plateau. Black cherry, chocolate, espresso, licorice and spice infuse the 2023 with notable richness. This is an especially potent, bold style built on textural opulence and breadth. The Cabernet signatures are pretty strong here. Tasted two times.

The 2023 Petit-Village was picked beginning with the younger vines on September 6 and finished on September 20 just before the light rains. Yields were 36hL/ha and the wine matured in slightly less new oak this year (40%, 20% of which is 500-liter barrels). The nose is quite straightforward and just misses the complexity I have found amongst its peers. It displays pleasant black cherry and bilberry fruit and a touch of sous-bois, but it doesn't quite evolve in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and framed by supple tannins, with plenty of graphite-tinged black fruit and quite a structured finish. It should mellow during its élevage. This is a case where I feel that they could have held on a little longer with respect to the Cabernets in order to obtain that extra degree of ripeness and complexity.