Chateau Marquis de Terme 2023

With more Cabernet in the blend, this wine shines from the glass with pure fruit, floral notes, cherries, cassis; delicate fruit, precise oak management, polished tannins, everything in its place, clearly more linear, fresher and more tense than last year, captivating with brilliance and balance.

Dark blackcurrants and black cherries on the nose. Smooth and succulent, juicy and really quite bright and focused. Clean and pure, there’s good grip but lots of freshness and lift too. Tannins are still quite firm and edgy, but they do well to support the fruit and I like the chalkiness on the palate. A little subdued at this point but friendly, and it will be lovely to approach in a few years.

Tobacco, mint leaf, cigar box, flowers, and red fruit aromatics open the bouquet. Medium-bodied, soft, and silky, with a refined character from start to finish, this is quite lovely and will only improve with age. Drink from 2027–2050. 92–94 pts

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections. Ripe plums, subtle meadow herbs, tobacco nuances, fresh bouquet. Medium complexity, red-berry fruit, subtle tannins, somewhat dry finish, needs time.

Glass-staining rich plum colour, this has clear structure and concentration, very much classic Left Bank in its fruit character and tannic grip, good balance, enjoyable, austere right now but will fill out through the mid-palate over ageing, and has fennel and black pepper spice to round things off with a punch. This year includes the Marojallia vines for the first time.

A lovely fruity nose, elegant, precise, mineral, with a beautifully elongated, elegant profile. It shows notes of wild blackberry, soft small fruits and, more lightly, bright raspberry, with hints of cornflower and star anise, and a touch of graphite and nutmeg. A subtle hint of infusion and vanilla. The palate is beautifully juicy, fruity, offering indulgence, precision, tension, and a zesty backbone. It reveals notes of juicy/pulpy blackberry, juicy/pulpy raspberry and, more lightly, bigarreau cherry, with touches of bright small red berries, as well as a Mediterranean hint, sweet blond tobacco, plus touches of liquorice stick and fresh hazelnut. The tannins are sapid and gourmand. Lovely texture and silky freshness, with a density that never weighs on the palate