2021, Château Mauvesin Barton, AOC MOULIS-EN-MÉDOC

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Merlot

The home of Lilian Sartorius-Barton - a wine made in a deliberately soft and juicy style for early-midrange consumption. Always lovely drinking.

The 2021 Mauvesin Barton was picked from 30 September until 11 October and aged in one-third new oak. There is more Cabernet this year (52%). It has a vibrant nose with black cherries, bilberry and perhaps more floral scents than I have encountered apropos previous vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, not a deep or powerful Moulis, yet well-balanced and surfeit with freshness, a pleasant bitter swerve on the finish. 89-91 Neal Martin.

The 2021 Mauvesin Barton, the Barton family's Moulis, is a soft, fruity wine to drink now and over the next decade. Sweet red cherry fruit, cedar, pipe tobacco and incense give this mid-weight Moulis lovely aromatic presence. 88-90 Antonio Galloni,

This is light but well done with balance and careful extaction of gentle, soft berry fruits. Hardly any tannic frame at all, this is working with not against the vintage - careful winemaking. 87 Jane Anson.