CHÂTEAU SANSONNET

A rich, potent wine, the 2023 Sansonnet is packed with blackberry, spice, leather, licorice, menthol and chocolate. Readers will find an ample, sumptuous Saint-Émilion built on textural resonance and pure power, buffered by the high acids that are so typical of this site. Tasted three times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2043 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

This is a blend of 87% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. An intense nose suggesting some concentration, with dark berry fruits richly dressed with layers of dark chocolate, coffee bean, leather and toast. The palate is gently polished, lightly velvety, with a rich core of very dark fruits, all currant, dark chocolate, coffee bean and tar, which comes with a rich seam of grippy tannins, adding a firm frame to the structure of the wine. Dense, richly built, even while it still carries the sinewy and bright DNA of the vintage, the tannins are firm and well knit, and they seem to suit the palate. Long and wrapped in a grip of ripe tannins and scented oak at the end. It will take some time to come around, this one, but it certainly has potential. Tasted three times. Rating: 92-94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

A juicy and fruity red with blackberry and currant aromas and crunchy flavors on a medium body. Refined for the vintage. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)