2018 Château Tour Saint Christophe, St-Emilion

In 2012, Hong Kong-based Peter Kwok purchased this vineyard located in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes. The average age of vines is 30 years old. The wine is aging in 40% new oak barrels, 40% one-year-old and 20% two-year-old barrels and is expected to run 18 months. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with fruit from the Cassevert lieu-dit, and the wine has 14.6% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, the 2018 Tour Saint-Christophe bursts out of the glass with wonderfully pure blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry scents with an undercurrent of plum preserves, star anise and cinnamon stick with wafts of charcuterie and dried herbs. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with vibrant, juicy black fruits with a ripe, rounded tannin texture and fantastic freshness, finishing savory.

This is good quality but powerful and feels a little less tamed than some. The tannins are a touch rustic and there is high alcohol, but it's still an enjoyable wine with evident oak that feels purposeful rather than overpowering. Harvested between 25 September and 15 October, giving a 37hl/ha yield. 3.6pH. 40% new oak.

Blueberry and blackberry character with hints of white pepper and chalk. Salty, too. Full-bodied, tight and polished with fantastic texture and length. Very closed and tight with gorgeous tannin quality.

The 2018 Tour Saint Christophe is a wine of real depth and intensity. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, spice and leather build through to the creamy, resonant finish. There is plenty of the density and volume readers have come to expect, but also less extraction than in the past, and that is a good thing. Consulting winemaker Michel Rolland really seems to have dialed it in here. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Tasted three times.