2024, Château Mauvesin Barton, AOC MOULIS-EN-MÉDOC

Bordeaux Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc.

The 2024 Mauvesin Barton was picked from September 25 to October 9 and matured in one-third new oak. It has a pleasant bouquet with more complexity than its peers, offering brambly red fruit, hints of sage and cedar. The oak is deftly utilised here. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and modest weight, classically styled as usual with a fresh if short finish. Drink over the several years. 87-89 Neal Martin, Vinous (2025).

The 2024 Mauvesin Barton is a soft, fruity Moulis-en-Médoc to drink now and over the next handful of years. Blackberry, gravel, incense, liquorice and dark spice are front and centre. This is an especially virile, almost somber Moulis. Merlot suffered frost damage, so the wine is a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon-driven in 2024. That is very much in evidence. 89-91 Antonio Galloni, Vinous (2025).

Keeps things slim through the palate, with emphasis on raspberry leaf and savoury fruits, careful construction but austere. An estate that has been producing really lovely wines over the past few years but is impacted by the challenges of this vintage. 33% new oak barrels for ageing. Harvest 25 September to 9 October, no hail here but a touch of frost, so higher Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, 30hl/h yield. 88 Jane Anson, janeanson.com (2025).

Drinking Window: 2027 - 2035