Winemaker Notes
Smooth and refined, Château de Sales wines are elegant and fruit-driven with silky tannins, a true expression of the terroir from which they come.
Blend: 83% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Vivid purple colour in the glass, aromatic perfumed nose with soft floral flecks and concentrated fruit. Chewy, bright, forward and focussed, there’s structure but a streamlined nature keeps the focus and drive but still with volume to the mid palate. Feels quite serious and a touch compact right now, lovely definition though, and a cool strawberry, blueberry juiciness that nicely contrasts the clear structure and density. Well controlled, mouthfilling, a touch hot on the finish but there’s such appealing plumpness and sense of life. Will be excellent to drink when it’s ready. 3.7pH. 60% grand vin production. 18% new oak. No press wine. A yield fo 30hl/ha. Harvest 7 - 21 September.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
James Suckling
Ripe, plummy nose with hints of baked cherries, iron and herbs. Medium body with juicy red fruit and a firm, medium-long finish. Still tight. Give it another two years in the bottle. Drink from 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A strong effort from this large Pomerol property, the 2022 De Sales offers up aromas of red fruits, plums and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy palate that's ample, layered and velvety, exhibiting a touch more concentration than is habitual at this address without compromising the elegant house style.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Red and black fruits, savory flowers, spice, and menthol notes all emerge from the 2022 Château Sales, a pure, seamless, very pretty, elegant wine from this team, a medium-bodied, round, supple, elegant Pomerol.
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Wine Spectator
Gently steeped raspberry and black cherry fruit shows density and grip, with light anise, black tea and savory notes adding energy through the lightly toasted, slightly dusty finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2036.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.