Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

20ha of prime St Emilion limestone, punching at the very top of its game. This is muscular, less exuberant than the exceptional 2018 but this is still easily one of the wines of the vintage, salinity and austerity but creamy in texture, with pure, well chiselled blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruits with peony flowers on the finish. Biodynamic farming, but not certified. 38hl/h yield. 50% new oak, 2% amphoras.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

20ha of prime St Emilion limestone, punching at the very top of its game. This is muscular, less exuberant than the exceptional 2018 but this is still easily one of the wines of the vintage, salinity and austerity but creamy in texture, with pure, well chiselled blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruits with peony flowers on the finish. Biodynamic farming, but not certified. 38hl/h yield. 50% new oak, 2% amphoras.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

20ha of prime St Emilion limestone, punching at the very top of its game. This is muscular, less exuberant than the exceptional 2018 but this is still easily one of the wines of the vintage, salinity and austerity but creamy in texture, with pure, well chiselled blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruits with peony flowers on the finish. Biodynamic farming, but not certified. 38hl/h yield. 50% new oak, 2% amphoras.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-99)

One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-99)

One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-99)

One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-99)

One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-99)

One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94-96)

The 2021 Clos Fourtet is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Towering in its stature, the 2021 is a regal wine endowed with tremendous energy and vibrancy. This classically austere Saint-Émilion oozes class from the very first taste. Blue/purplish fruit, spice, lavender and menthol are some of the aromas and flavors that build into the resonant, deeply pitched finish. What a wine.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94-96)

The 2021 Clos Fourtet is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Towering in its stature, the 2021 is a regal wine endowed with tremendous energy and vibrancy. This classically austere Saint-Émilion oozes class from the very first taste. Blue/purplish fruit, spice, lavender and menthol are some of the aromas and flavors that build into the resonant, deeply pitched finish. What a wine.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94-96)

The 2021 Clos Fourtet is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Towering in its stature, the 2021 is a regal wine endowed with tremendous energy and vibrancy. This classically austere Saint-Émilion oozes class from the very first taste. Blue/purplish fruit, spice, lavender and menthol are some of the aromas and flavors that build into the resonant, deeply pitched finish. What a wine.

Decanter (98)

Gorgeous perfume on the nose, roses and violets, floral, expressive and so inviting. Sleek and straight from the start, the grip comes almost straight away - a crushed stone and graphite edge to the tannins giving cool freshness as well as bite. Feels suave and controlled, nothing too much or out of place. Refined and supremely elegant but still with a serious and dark core, it’s powerful and intense but that comes a few minutes after the playful juiciness and lively acidity settles. Complete and cool and puts you in St-Emilion on limestone with an inescapable and intense salty grip. Confident and supremely well made with a light touch. A yield of 36hl/ha. 3.54pH. Ageing 14-18 months; 40% new barrels, 58% second wine, 2% amphora, in underground cellars. Harvest 9 September - 27 September. Derenoncourt consultants.

Decanter (98)

Gorgeous perfume on the nose, roses and violets, floral, expressive and so inviting. Sleek and straight from the start, the grip comes almost straight away - a crushed stone and graphite edge to the tannins giving cool freshness as well as bite. Feels suave and controlled, nothing too much or out of place. Refined and supremely elegant but still with a serious and dark core, it’s powerful and intense but that comes a few minutes after the playful juiciness and lively acidity settles. Complete and cool and puts you in St-Emilion on limestone with an inescapable and intense salty grip. Confident and supremely well made with a light touch. A yield of 36hl/ha. 3.54pH. Ageing 14-18 months; 40% new barrels, 58% second wine, 2% amphora, in underground cellars. Harvest 9 September - 27 September. Derenoncourt consultants.

Decanter (98)

Gorgeous perfume on the nose, roses and violets, floral, expressive and so inviting. Sleek and straight from the start, the grip comes almost straight away - a crushed stone and graphite edge to the tannins giving cool freshness as well as bite. Feels suave and controlled, nothing too much or out of place. Refined and supremely elegant but still with a serious and dark core, it’s powerful and intense but that comes a few minutes after the playful juiciness and lively acidity settles. Complete and cool and puts you in St-Emilion on limestone with an inescapable and intense salty grip. Confident and supremely well made with a light touch. A yield of 36hl/ha. 3.54pH. Ageing 14-18 months; 40% new barrels, 58% second wine, 2% amphora, in underground cellars. Harvest 9 September - 27 September. Derenoncourt consultants.

Decanter (98)

Gorgeous perfume on the nose, roses and violets, floral, expressive and so inviting. Sleek and straight from the start, the grip comes almost straight away - a crushed stone and graphite edge to the tannins giving cool freshness as well as bite. Feels suave and controlled, nothing too much or out of place. Refined and supremely elegant but still with a serious and dark core, it’s powerful and intense but that comes a few minutes after the playful juiciness and lively acidity settles. Complete and cool and puts you in St-Emilion on limestone with an inescapable and intense salty grip. Confident and supremely well made with a light touch. A yield of 36hl/ha. 3.54pH. Ageing 14-18 months; 40% new barrels, 58% second wine, 2% amphora, in underground cellars. Harvest 9 September - 27 September. Derenoncourt consultants.

James Suckling (97-98)

This is so full of energy. It’s full-bodied with electrified tannins and a long, long finish. So polish and focus here with exquisite balance and length.

James Suckling (97-98)

This is so full of energy. It’s full-bodied with electrified tannins and a long, long finish. So polish and focus here with exquisite balance and length.

James Suckling (97-98)

This is so full of energy. It’s full-bodied with electrified tannins and a long, long finish. So polish and focus here with exquisite balance and length.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (91-93)

The 2020 Clos La Gaffelière is a super attractive second wine. It is a bit darker and more overt than the Grand Vin, both of which lend quite a bit of immediacy. Black cherry, plum, spice, chocolate and leather build nicely in the glass. This supple, juicy Saint-Émilion will drink well right out of the gate.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (92)

Love the bright fruit here, bright, zesty, real orange peel and tar, heavy spice but plenty of love. 45hl/ha, harvest September 7 to 29. 50% new oak, rest in stainless steel.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (92)

Love the bright fruit here, bright, zesty, real orange peel and tar, heavy spice but plenty of love. 45hl/ha, harvest September 7 to 29. 50% new oak, rest in stainless steel.

Savour the grandeur of the Bordeaux region with the exceptional Clos La Madeleine 2007. This striking red wine originates from the iconic Saint-Émilion sub-region, famed for its rich, diverse wine heritage. Produced in only small quantities, Clos La Madeleine 2007 truly is the epitome of substance over volume. Aged in French oak barrels and comprised of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, this stunning vintage preens with depth, layered with a tantalising bouquet of ripe red fruits and subtle spice.

The historic vineyard, overlooking the Dordogne, boasts an optimal terroir, bestowing a notable elegance upon the final product. Each bottle is a testament to the meticulous cultivation techniques implemented at the vineyard, ensuring a unique wine expression with each harvest. Succumbing to its profound allure, experts laud the Clos La Madeleine 2007 for its full-bodied richness, refined tannins, and long, seductive finish. For the discerning palate desiring a classical Bordeaux experience, this vintage is quite simply, incomparable.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)

The 2017 Clos La Madeleine is bold and racy in the glass. Super-ripe red cherry and plum fruit give the 2017 a real sense of lusciousness. Sweet tobacco, cedar, mint, dried flowers, herbs and small red berries develop later, adding lovely shades of intrigue. Clos La Madeleine is an especially ripe Saint-Émilion, just as it was en primeur, but it is also succulent, silky and incredibly delicious for what it is: a juicy Saint-Émilion to enjoy over the next decade or so with no pretense.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

Coming from the Moueix team, the 2018 Clos La Madeleine checks in as 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc from a tiny vineyard (2.3 hectares) on the hillsides of Saint-Emilion, near Belair-Monange. This vineyard was purchased by the Moueix family in 2017, and the 2018 saw malolactic fermentation in barrel and was raised in 40% new French oak. It has classic Saint-Emilion minerality as well as a great nose of blackcurrants, black cherries, chocolate, crushed stone, and graphite. This carries to a powerful, medium to full-bodied 2018 with chalky tannins, terrific mid-palate depth, and a juicy, lively, complex style that keeps you coming back to the glass. Give it a few years and enjoy over the following 15-20 years. It's the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, and I expect the best is still to come.