2019 Clos de l'Oratoire

The 2019 Clos de l'Oratoire has a Left Bank-inspired bouquet with cedar-infused red fruit, fine delineation, quite backward but nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite saline, and nicely balanced though it needs to develop a little more precision on the finish. It does not reach the level just after bottling, but a decent showing. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Tasted blind. Creamy, rich nose and very round palate with the (sufficient) tannins very much in the background. Good vigour and lots of attack. Classic early-21st-century St-Émilion! (JR)

Ripe black fruit (there's some red fruit as well), tobacco leaf, damp earth, exotic flowers, and some chocolaty notes all emerge from the 2019 Clos De L'Oratoire, another beautiful wine from the Neipperg family and team. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and seamless on the palate, I love its mid-palate, it has gorgeous tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. This is clearly a great vintage for this cuvée. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it's going to have 2-3 decades of longevity, and probably a gradual decline after that as well. It's beautiful.