CHÂTEAU CAPBERN

The 2023 Capbern is a plush, sensual wine. Juicy dark plum, spice, mocha, gravel and incense are all amplified in this racy, wonderfully inviting Saint-Estèphe. Soft, supple tannins wrap it all together in style. Readers looking for an affordable wine to drink over the next 10-12 years will adore this. Superb. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

The blend here is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 1% each Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, a little more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, because the Cabernet Sauvignon was of high quality. Also the yields were good, at 45 hl/ha. The picking began September 6th for the Merlot, finishing the 20th, the Cabernets began on the 28th, finishing the 30th, the same as the Calon wines. Sweet and perfumed Cabernet flowers on the nose, a more confident expression than Vincent Millet’s right-bank wines (such as Le Prieuré), with gorse flowers and violets. A modest texture at the start, very controlled through the middle, with well knit and clearly ripe tannins, nicely polished, with a gentle and rather powdery body of fruit, and supremely fresh acidity. Pure, finessed and elegant, this is a very nice example of Capbern this year. The alcohol is about 14.6%. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

A serious, brooding wine, the 2023 Capbern offers up aromas of cassis and dark berries mingled with licorice and spices. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with good depth and concentration, it's built around lively acids and powdery tannins. It's a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon (an unusually high proportion for Capbern) and 29% Merlot with the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Rating: 91-93 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)