ST. PIERRE [ST. JULIEN] 2018 750ML

A St-Julien name that I can't recommend highly enough, Château Saint-Pierre 2018 is extremely architectural in feel, a beautiful, confident, masculine, muscled wine with vertical walls - although it's interesting to note it has slightly lower alcohol than some other St-Juliens. It's intense in its black fruit and charcoal character, rippling with tannins. I am full of admiration for this impressive wine that demands your attention.

Composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot, the 2018 Saint-Pierre bursts from the glass with a glorious perfume of kirsch, blackcurrant pastilles, black raspberries and cedar chest with hints of red roses, pencil shavings and spice box. The medium to full-bodied palate coats the mouth with velvety tannins and beautifully knit freshness, supporting the generous black and red berry layers, finishing long and perfumed. It needs a good four years for the oak to marry and the fruit to really hit its stride, then should drink a further 20+ years.

The 2018 Saint-Pierre is even more intense than the Gloria on the nose, actually reminding me of the Léoville Poyferré that I tasted alongside. Copious black cherries, lavender, incense and violet just storm from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit laced with cedar and charcoal. Delivering wonderful delineation and focus and a disarming silky finish, this fulfills the promise that it showed from barrel. An outstanding Saint-Julien that should age well over the next 20–30 years.

Sports a beam of cassis, plum puree and blackberry sauce running through the middle while roasted applewood, violet and sweet tobacco notes run along the edges. Everything meets and then extends through the finish, with an echo of warm cast iron at the very end.

With an almost Pauillac-like stature and structure, the 2018 Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) (77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot) offers a powerful bouquet of black currants, lead pencil, spicy oak, and chocolate and shows more earth and tobacco as it sits in the glass. Deeply hued, full-bodied, and concentrated, it has a stacked mid-palate, building tannins, and one heck of a great finish. It needs to be forgotten for 7-8 years and will keep for 2-3 decades.

Aromas of blackberries, currants, dried earth, coffee and chocolate orange, as well as some crushed stone. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Fresh with lingering citrus zest and bitter chocolate. Fine texture. Try from 2024.

This firm wine shows layers of tannins as well as the warm, rich black fruits typical of the vintage. Black-currant flavors along with the tannins give a dense wine with aging potential. Drink from 2026.