Chateau Jean Faure Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2018

Tamlyn Currin: 17 pts
60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, 5% Malbec. 2018 was a complicated vintage – real problems with mildew. Merlot is more sensitive to mildew than Cabernet Franc so for their 2018 they relied on Cabernet Franc. 80% of their Cab Franc vines were planted in 1950. They tend to use 50% new and 50% used oak barrels but have introduced big oak tanks. Hand-picked. 40-day vinification, two-thirds in concrete and one-third in oak vats. Aged for 18 months in new and one-year-old oak barrels and concrete vats.

Stunning. This was the star of the (small) line-up. Strikingly floral on the nose – I was inhaling rose petals, violets, muscari, rose hips – but with a supple, ripe blackberry depth. Touch of Persian souk and hash pipe. Satiny. Tastes as if there were cigarillos of hand-rolled Ceylon cinnamon soaking in the wine. Inky pomegranate and blackcurrants steeped in black tea and black pepper and yet not a whit of this wine is heavy. Like fine calligraphy, it leaves a clear, disciplined, unequivocal mark, without spot or smear. (TC)
Drink 2025-2037