Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Rounded and rich, this generous, full-bodied wine comes from a single parcel in the heart of Saint-Émilion. Black fruits are structured with dense tannins and a firm tension between ripeness and dryness. The wine is powerful, finishing with pepper and spice. Drink from 2018.
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James Suckling
A rich and deep wine with berry, chocolate and spice character. Medium body, fine tannins and a silky finish. Pretty texture. Best after 2016.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Overlying deep limestone, this vineyard sits at the entrance to the medieval village of St.-Emilion. The 2012 (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc) is rich and full-bodied, with intense minerality, good acidity, plenty of black cherry, raspberry and brambleberry fruit, and a briary Zinfandel-like character intermixed with the crushed rock and spice. This is an impressively endowed St.-Emilion. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
This has broad shoulders, with a core of dark plum, blackberry and blueberry fruit, well-layered with ganache, menthol and black licorice notes. Has polish on the surface, but there's serious graphite-driven cut lurking through the finish. Let this stretch out a bit in the cellar. Best from 2017 through 2025. 300 cases made.
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.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.