CHÂTEAU SAINT PIERRE
2023 4ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
Enjoyable, well balanced, great inky depths of flavour, an enjoyable, sleek and confident St Julien, with an effortless finesse where you feel they aren't trying too hard to impress, just harnessing the drinkability of the vintage with its black fruit and liquorice character. Give it a few years, then sink into the pleasure of this wine. 45hl/ha yield, third year of organic conversion. Drinking range: 2029 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)
75cl bottles (wood case of 6)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2023 Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) is packed with blackberry jam, gravel, lavender, dried herbs, spice and crushed rocks. There’s a ton of character here. Incisive tannins and bright acids pull it all together in style. Give this at least a few years to soften. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2045 Rating: 93-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)
Very nicely creamed fruit on the nose, all currant, dark cherry, wild berries with a little white chocolate suggestion. This translates into a quite bright and beautiful structure on the palate, with a rather juicy layer of fruit, draped over finely grained tannins. Sweet, peppery, convincing, with perfumed fruits, this is taut, linear and very attractive. It concludes with a flourish of firm and grippy tannins in the finish, which persist long thereafter, adding a huge, toasted grip to the length. A good result in the 2023 vintage, this is going to need time. Tasted twice. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)
A strong effort, the 2023 Saint-Pierre unwinds in the glass with aromas of cassis, dark berries and incense, framed by a deft touch of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with good mid-palate density, powdery tannins and lively acids, it's a classically proportioned Saint-Julien that will age with grace. The blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Rating: 92-94 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)
Very refined and classy, with ultra-fine tannins and blackcurrant and hazelnut character, suggesting very pure fruit and precise picking times. Medium-bodied and chewy, yet caressing. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)
Château Saint Pierre
St Julien Quatrième cru 1855 At 17ha Château Saint Pierre is the smallest classed growth estate in St Julien. The name is derived from the Baron de Saint-Pierre who owned the estate at the tail end of the 18th Century. He left Saint-Pierre to his two daughters who, after running the estate together for a while, divided Saint-Pierre in two in 1832. The Dutch company, Van den Bussche bought both bits of Saint-Pierre in 1923 and re-united the estate. In 1982, Henri Martin (the man who assembled the Château Gloria from bits of vineyard purchased from various St Julien estates, including Saint-Pierre) bought the estate and he, and his daughter and son-in law Françoise and Jean-Louis Triaudand, have done much to raise the profile of this oft over-looked château. The vineyards are planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with the wines being made at Château Gloria. Although renewed reputation has pushed the price up a little in recent years, Saint-Pierre still represents quite good value for some nicely made darkly coloured St Julien.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.