2018 La Dauphine

Characterized by the sunny character of the vintage, the 2018 de la Dauphine offers notes of very ripe black fruits, blackcurrant and blackberry jam with a touch of spice when aerated. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, this wine is slightly more imposing than the previous ones but seduces with its supple and velvety tannins.

The 2018 Château de la Dauphine was picked at 35hl/ha from 21 September to 15 October, matured in 30% new oak. It merely reconfirms my assertion just a few weeks earlier that it represents the best this Fronsac estate has produced. Killer definition on the nose that surpasses even the excellent 2015 with much more mineral drive. The palate is supremely well balanced with fine tannins, beautiful black fruit laced with graphite towards the sophisticated finish that has newfound sapidity. Cellar this for three to four years and wait to be handsomely rewarded.

Certified Haute Valeur Environnementale. 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Although the estate was already organic certified, because they bought new vineyards which were not certified, for this vintage the entire estate was 'de-certified'. Fermented parcel by parcel in tank, 30-day maceration, manual extraction. Aged in separate batches for 12 months, 30% new barrels. Smells fumy! Lots of ‘Bordeaux’ here. Members-only, cigar-smoked leather, old book spines and honours-boards-lined walls; pursed lips of starched butlers and topiary box leaf. The fruit is dark, dense and sumptuous but tightly buttoned down and wood-panelled and oh so very, very polished. You can see your signature ring in its gleam. Reserve, with an innuendo of undercover insubordination, should you take it on. GV (TC)