Chateau Le Boscq 2018
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
In 2018, the wine quickly distinguished itself by its fresh, elegant and distinguished style, that this vintage offers with brightness, precision, and great depth. Undoubtely a very good wine that all the wine aficionados should discover.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This well-run estate shows its pedigree in this latest release. The firm tannins of the appellation are balanced by powerful black fruits and smoky, wood-aging flavors. The 63% Cabernet Sauvignon is the key to the wine's structure and aging potential. Best after 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
This estate delivers terrific wines in just about every vintage. The 2018 Château Le Boscq offers a deep purple hue as well as a rocking nose of blue fruits, plums, violets, damp earth, and flowers. Rich and medium-bodied, it has a wonderfully sweet core of fruit and a great finish. It's ideal for drinking over the coming 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
Blackcurrant, black-cherry, dark-chocolate, clove and praline aromas. Oyster shell. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, chalky tannins and a creamy texture. Medium finish. Nice texture to this. Polished texture. Drink from 2023.
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Wine Spectator
Sleek and pure in feel, with pebbly tannins imbedded seamlessly in the core of cassis and bitter cherry flavors. Light floral and iron notes dart throughout. Modest in scale, but finely cut. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2031.
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Decanter
This is savoury, juicy and full of flavour. 2018 is the first year that the new Cabernet Sauvignon plantings have been incorporated into the grand vin and you can feel their weight. The vines are getting older, and so proved more resistant to the weather in this vintage. This is a lovely Le Boscq with real Médoc classicism, showing a graphite edge, and will provide excellent medium-term drinking. Terra Vitis and HVE3 certified (as with the rest of the Dourthe portfolio).
Barrel Sample
Other Vintages
2022- Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James
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Enthusiast
Wine
Chateau Le Boscq’s reputation dates back to the conquest for the Medoc vineyard, when in 1749, Thomas Barton took over the tenancy at Chateau Le Boscq. For more than 30 years he dedicated his life to making wine of a quality repeatedly recognised, sometimes even at Cru Classé level, within the different classifications established in the 18th century by the courtiers and négociants in Bordeaux. At the end of the 19th century, Jean Grazilhon, whose grandfather was the estate’s steward working under Thomas Barton, become owner of the estate. He had the chateau built in 1891, a majestic residence enjoying views overlooking the Gironde estuary. For more than 30 years, he strived to produce high quality wines, paving the way for Chateau Le Boscq to be awarded Cru Bourgeois status in 1932. During this period, the estate’s wines were transported in barrels by barge as far as the port of Bordeaux. It is with reference to this historical fact, and to the location of the chateau by the estuary, that a barge now features on the labels as the emblem of the estate.
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.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.