I like the round tannins and juicy mouth-feel to this wine, showing softness and focus. Medium body. Pleasant redcurrant and chocolate undertones.
May 2022

A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Rouget offers up aromas of sweet berries, cherries, licorice and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, it's impressively concentrated, with fine depth at the core, powdery tannins and lively acids. A success in this challenging vintage, in recent years Rouget has benefited from the acquisition of some small parcels on the plateau (in the Clinet sector and near Le Pin), as well as the relegation of the less propitious parts of its historic vineyard to a second wine. Anyone who has tasted the great Rouget wines of yesteryear such as the famous 1961 will know what this estate is capable of, and the Labruyère family is working hard to realize its potential. Tasted three times.
William Kelley, April 2022

An unusually rich, demonstrative wine for the vintage, the 2021 Rouget exhibits aromas of crème de cassis, raspberry liqueur and cherry preserve, framed by toasty oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a sweet, somewhat confectionery core of fruit framed by structuring barrel tannins.

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet. Smells unusually spicy and ripe-fruited for a 2021. But not as rich on the palate. A bit lean overall. Not much fun. (JH)

Tasted blind. Not much nose but a suggestion of oxidation. Too old! Lacks freshness. Old-timer! (JR)