Winemaker Notes
Blend: 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This red is all about finesse and tension. Subtle aromas of dark berries, earth, mushrooms, lavender and violets. Medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins and hints of chalk and spices such as nutmeg. Energetic at the end, with an almost pinot-like delicacy. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc. Drinkable now, but better in a couple of years. Try after 2027.
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Vinous
The 2023 L'If is powerful, deep and beautifully layered. Blue/black fruit, new leather, licorice and cedar soar from the glass. A broad, ample wine with huge tannins, the 2023 appears to be destined for a long life. Time in the glass brings out hints of graphite and dried herbs that add complexity and a good bit of gravitas, too. Give this time.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 L'If, crafted by Cyrille Thiepont and originating from vines owned by Jacques Thienpont, unveils a dark bouquet of licorice, dark wild berries, pencil lead, coniferous forest, spices and oak. Medium to full-bodied, creamy and unctuous, it’s rich and concentrated with a fleshy core of fruit framed by powdery tannins, culminating in a long, mineral, chalky finish. This is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that's brought up 12-16 months in 50% new oak with the balance in once-used barrels, the 2023 L'If is medium ruby-hued and semi-opaque. A pretty perfume of framboise, ripe cherries, graphite, crushed stone, and spring flowers all emerge from the nose, and it's medium-bodied on the palate, with integrated acidity and ripe tannins. It picks up an almost gun flint-like minerality, and while it's not massive, it shines for its complexity, balance, and length. Give it 3-4 years and enjoy over the following 15-20 years. Drink 2029-2048.
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Wine Spectator
A nicely ripe red, offering a youthful core of raspberry, cherry and plum coulis inlaid gently with iris and violet notes. Mulling spice and red tea hints add perfume on the finish, which shows sneaky length. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2027 through 2038.
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.