Le Plus de La Fleur de Bouard 2018

No wine was produced here in 2017 due to frost, but the 2018 is highly successful. It's one of the very few vintages where I prefer this to the grand vin: it's inky and deep in colour, and there's no question that the oak give walls and tannic structure. But everything is well integrated and balanced, and the charred notes give an extra kick that softens the austerity. As I often think, if they combined the two wines it really could be a brilliant ensemble, but it's definitely clear that this wine has an edge in 2018.

Dark in color, you find red, black and hints of blue fruit wrapped in dark chocolate-covered espresso beans and licorice on the nose and palate. Rich, full-bodied and concentrated, with lush textures and velvety tannins, the wine demands 5–7 years in the cellar before it really begins to strut its stuff. This Pomerol look-alike is made from 100% old-vine Merlot.

Kunz barrel sample 19: (100% Merlot) Concentrated, powerful, sweet bouquet of blue and black berries, blackberry jelly, black cherries, currants, licorice, dark chocolate, graphite. Concentrated, multilayered, aromatic palate with powerful dark fruit, a creamy, muscular structure, diverse dark aromatics, and a powerful, opulent finish.

(100% Merlot) Concentrated, powerful, sweet bouquet: blue and black berries, blackberry jelly, black cherries, currants, licorice, dark chocolate, graphite. Concentrated, layered, aromatic palate with intense dark fruit, a creamy, muscular structure, diverse dark aromatics, and a powerful, opulent finish. 19/20 2027 - 2050

The nose is fruity, fresh, juicy, and elegant, with lovely fine grain, along with power and concentration (yet all in elegance). It shows notes of fleshy/fresh blackberry and, more subtly, ripe/juicy blackcurrant, joined by small touches of dark fruits, cornflower, red fruits, a delicate hint of lilac, coffee, Sichuan pepper, as well as very discreet hints of dark chocolate and coffee, and imperceptible touches of dried almond/toasted hazelnut. The palate is fruity, juicy, fresh, and balanced, offering minerality, a juicy/mineral backbone, tension, concentration, richness, lovely definition, a pleasing creamy texture, and an elegant, finely tight grain. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy blackcurrant, juicy/fleshy blueberry and, more subtly, cornflower, combined with touches of red fruits and liquorice, as well as very fine hints of toast (in the background), Bourbon vanilla, dark chocolate, and a very discreet hint of coffee. Good length. Delicious, lingering finish. A very fine chew on the end of the palate/persistence.