Château Lilian Ladouys Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel 2018.

When tasted, Lilian Ladouys always reveals a rich and crisp structure with ripe tannins and refined oak which melts into an explosion of fruit. It has the opulence and length of a Saint-Estèphe fine wine. Thanks to the appellation’s limestone-clay subsoils, its power is balanced out by a wonderful sensation of freshness.

Their top wine is matured for an average of 14 months in their superb barrel store (40-60% new oak depending on the vintage). Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot make up the majority of the blend, with the proportions varying from one year to the next. They are supplemented by Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The estate’s wines go into gravity-fed vats and undergo vinification with a partially gravity-based system, which is more sensitive to the integrity and subtleties of the grapes and the wine.

In 2018, the Lorenzetti family purchased two neighbor estates, Château Clauzet and Château Tour de Pez, adding these to the Lilian Ladouys vineyard to almost double its planted area to 77 hectares. These additional vineyards are composed of gravelly soils of the same level as the best blocks of Lilian Ladouys. Soils are a typically Saint-Estèphe mix of sandy-gravel and clay with some limestone deposits. It is planted at 8,500-10,000 vines per hectare, with an average vine age of 35 years in 2018. The wine will see 12 months aging in 35% new and 65% two-year-old barriques. The blend is 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, and it has 14.41% alcohol. From the lieu-dit Blanquet and with a deep purple-black color, the 2018 Lilian Ladouys gives up wonderfully spicy black fruit preserves notions: plum preserves, crème de cassis and blueberry with hints of exotic spices, menthol and violets. Medium to full-bodied, firm and fine-grained in the mouth, it has layer upon layer of rich, spicy black fruits with a lift to the finish - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, Apr 23, 2019.