A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, aged for around 18 months in oak barrels, 40% new, the 2018 Tour Saint Christophe weighs in at 14.6% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes barreling out of the glass with bold notions of baked black cherries, plum preserves and blueberry pie plus underlying suggestions of Christmas cake, Chinese five spice and dusty soil. The full-bodied palate packs in the black and blue fruit preserves layers, framed by velvety tannins and lively acidity, finishing long and spicy. In 2012, Hong Kong-based Peter Kwok purchased this vineyard located in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, with fruit coming from the Cassevert lieu-dit, which has an average vine age of around 30 years old.

The 2018 Tour Saint Christophe has a delineated and focused, almost clinical bouquet with pretty red cherry and blueberry fruit intermixed with peony and iris flower. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, good acidity and poise with really quite superb tension and energy on the finish. This could have been pushed in the winery - it’s not - it’s succinctly judged and really utterly delicious. So silky that it will probably drink early, but I would advise cellaring for five years if possible.

The 2018 Tour Saint Christophe is a wine of real depth and intensity. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, spice and leather build through to the creamy, resonant finish. There is plenty of the density and volume readers have come to expect, but also less extraction than in the past, and that is a good thing. Consulting winemaker Michel Rolland really seems to have dialed it in here. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Tasted three times.