2021 Château Montlandrie, Côtes de Castillon

A wine that transcends the vintage's challenges, the 2021 Figeac is performing brilliantly in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of raspberries and cherries mingled with striking top notes of violet, rose petal, iris and mint. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and suave, it's pure and vibrant, its enveloping core of fruit framed by ultra-refined tannins, concluding with a long, floral finish. Readers in the habit of drinking top grand cru Burgundy are liable to find themselves seduced by this immensely elegant, perfumed Saint-Émilion, a wine I'll definitely be adding to my own cellar. It's the result of gamble that paid off, as Figeac's team chose to wait to pick their Cabernet Sauvignon despite the menace of forecast rain—a menace that, in fact, scarcely transpired. The 2021 saw a somewhat shorter-than-usual élevage of 16 months in barrel without fining.

The 2021 Montlandrie is a powerful, brooding wine. Black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, scorched earth, tobacco, menthol and clove are dialed up. En primeur, Montlandrie was on the lighter side, but it has gained quite a bit of volume in the mid-palate with aging. It will be interesting to see if this softens. The 2021 is an intriguing wine that may well surprise in time.

The 2021 Montlandrie, a blend of 75% Merlot (picked between the 30th of September and the 8th of October), 20% Cabernet Franc (picked on the 4th of October), and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (picked on the 7th of October), reveals a dark, somber character with aromas of spices, pencil lead, licorice and wild dark berries. Enrobing and structuring with a medium-bodied palate, it’s elegantly concentrated with a fleshy core of fruit and a mineral, saline finish. Recommended.

The 2021 Montlandrie is a powerful, brooding wine. Black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, scorched earth, tobacco, menthol and clove are dialed up. En primeur, Montlandrie was on the lighter side, but it has gained quite a bit of volume in the mid-palate with aging. It will be interesting to see if this softens. The 2021 is an intriguing wine that may well surprise in time.

The 2021 Montlandrie is a powerful, brooding wine. Black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, scorched earth, tobacco, menthol and clove are dialed up. En primeur, Montlandrie was on the lighter side, but it has gained quite a bit of volume in the mid-palate with aging. It will be interesting to see if this softens. The 2021 is an intriguing wine that may well surprise in time.

The 2021 Montlandrie, a blend of 75% Merlot (picked between the 30th of September and the 8th of October), 20% Cabernet Franc (picked on the 4th of October), and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (picked on the 7th of October), reveals a dark, somber character with aromas of spices, pencil lead, licorice and wild dark berries. Enrobing and structuring with a medium-bodied palate, it’s elegantly concentrated with a fleshy core of fruit and a mineral, saline finish. Recommended.