2022, Château de La Dauphine, FRONSAC

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Franc, Merlot. 

The 2022 La Dauphine offers up copious inky dark fruit, bittersweet chocolate, crushed rocks, lavender and menthol. Unctuous and deep to the core, La Dauphine is shaping up beautifully. 90-92 Antonio Galloni.

Richly concentrated dark berry fruits with crushed stones and slate minerality on the nose. Supple, generous and bright, this is so smooth and sleek, while the crushed stone, slate, graphite and pencil lead give the salty undercurrent. Liquorice and clove join towards the finish giving a spiced angle all adding to quite a complex whole. Lovely purity of fruit, still tense and focussed but sculpted and well worked retaining a sense of finesse and restraint as well as the terroir markers. 93 Georgina Hindle, Decanter.

Layers of dark damson fruits, this is a Fronsac with an inky colour, unusual for limestone. Well balanced on the palate, edges of floral peony and violet, unusual in this most exuberant of vintages where there is not always time for subtlety. Dark chocolate by the block, black cherry fruits, the high alcohols come through in texture and weight through the mid palate, but there is plenty of juice, and a tannic signoff. Needs time, but great quality. Certified organic since 2015, now 56ha, making it a serious size for the appellation. 93 Jane Anson.

Drinking Window: 2024 - 2036