Beautiful, intense fruit, dark-earth and chocolate character on the nose. Full-bodied with great density and plush, fine tannins that give a fine-velvet texture. It's extremely long, polished and sophisticated. Needs time to come together, but expressive and glorious. Fantastic relative value. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc.

The 2019 Tour Saint Christophe builds on the promise it showed from barrel. This sample was actually tasted at my home, where I afforded it a two-hour decant. It revealed precocious yet controlled blackberry and blueberry fruit scents, with that violet component still intact. The tannins have not lost any of their grippiness or assertiveness. This is a Saint-Emilion that is in for the long haul. Great potential.

From clay-rich soils opposite Troplong Mondot in the commune Saint Christophe des Bardes, the 2019 Tour Saint Christophe offers up demonstrative aromas of cherries, wild berries, sweet loamy soil, licorice and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an enveloping core of fruit, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins, it's a strong effort in a crowd-pleasing style.