Winemaker Notes
Beautiful dark and shiny robe, with an intense red, almost garnet. The nose is already expressive, fresh and spicy, combining finesse and elegance. Slight woody with light fruity notes. The palate is frank; whilst the mid-mouth is very balanced revealing pleasant well matured tannins. Beautiful after-taste, quite long, soft and silky. Easy to drink, a rather elegant wine reflecting well its terroir.
Blend: 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Very firm tannins coming from ripe black fruits give this structured wine, produced by the winemaking team from Château Montrose, a solid, dense feel. The core of dryness is surrounded by rich fruits and bright acidity. The wine presents the possibility of good aging; drink from 2018.
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.