En Primeur Bordeaux 2024
St Emilion - The wines with tasting notes
Actions | Wine Name |
Appellation |
GBP Price |
Price Per | Status | Wine scores | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NM |
JS |
WA |
DEC |
AG |
JD |
||||||
[Add to shopping basket] | Clos Fourtet | St Emilion | £306 | 6x75cl | 92-94 | - | - | 92 | 93-95 | - | |
Hide the tasting notes
The 2024 Clos Fourtet is a gorgeous, elegant wine. Medium in body, with terrific persistence and notable purity, Clos Fourtet impresses with its balance more than anything else. Dark blue fruits, lavender, spice, menthol, licorice and dried herbs open first, all framed by bright chalky notes that lend freshness. In 2024, Clos Fourtet is built more on persistence than overt textural richness, as has been the case in some recent vintages. Tasted two times. Score: 93 - 95 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2034-2054 Slow to unfurl, because this is a strong limestone identity which needs time to soften in the glass, but there are stunning gunsmoke, elderflower and white blossom aromatics, along with pumice stone and chalk tannins. Extremely clear limestone fingerprint, cruchy fruits, quite a physical reaction to the wine, good precision and clarity, 30hl/h yield. Harvest 25 September to 11 October, 40% new oak. 3.43pH. A more reserved Clos Fourtet compared to the last few vintages, needs time, potential upscore in bottle. Score: 92 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2040 The 2024 Clos Fourtet was picked between September 25 to October 11 at 30 hl/ha. It matured in 40% new oak for a planned 14 to 18 months. This is clearly a level-up from Le Closerie with pure, well-defined and focused blueberry, raspberry, and blood orange scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. This is quite linear, keeping with the style of the vintage, so this doesn't have a peacock's tail like the 2022. Yet this feels tensile and the limestone terroir shapes the mineral-driven finish. This is a well-crafted and delicious Clos Fourtet, a success given the challenges of the vintage. Score: 92 - 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2046 |
|||||||||||
[Add to shopping basket] | Figeac | St Emilion | £564 | 6x75cl | 93-95 | - | 93-95 | 95 | 93-96 | - | |
Hide the tasting notes
Silky and aromatic, with velvety tannins, the 2024 Figeac is sublime. Floral and savory aromatics meld into a core of blue/purplish fruit, spice, licorice, lavender and menthol. All the elements are so well balanced. The blend is 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, with 8% press wines. Not surprisingly, the 2024 is a very Cabernet-driven Figeac. Production is 60,000 bottles, or 50% of normal, because of low yields and further selection in the cellar. Tasted two times. Score: 93 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2034-2054 The 2024 Figeac is a lovely classic, wafting from the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, minty berries, licorice and pencil shavings, deftly framed by new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety, with good depth at the core, powdery tannins and a suave, seamless profile, it's a blend of 33% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc and 39% Cabernet Sauvignon that attained 12.7% alcohol. Figeac was one of those estates that took the risk of waiting to harvest, rejecting just over 20% of the crop in the sorting process to produce a compelling wine despite the challenging conditions. Score: 93 - 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Vivid plum and ruby colour, clear ripe raspberry and damson fruits, sappy quality, fine tannins. The Cabernet Franc slowly unfurls its floral waves, violets and iris, with white flowers, savoury black fruits, good energy and length. Figeac has shown over and over again that it can deliver wines that succeed and delight in many different kinds of vintage conditions, and it is an estate to have confidence in. 31hl/ha yield, 100% new oak, 8% press, 3.66pH. 31hl/ha yield. They deleafed on both sides for the first time since technical director Romain Jean-Pierre arrived 13 years ago. Harvest September 20 to October 5. Score: 95 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2032-2046 The 2024 Figeac was picked September 20 to October 5 at 31 hl/ha after sorting, as the natural yield was 36 hl/ha. The château sacrificed 21% of the crop (which I witnessed first-hand when I called in during harvest and toured the reception) and it matured entirely in new oak with 8% vin de presse. That wood is neatly assimilated on the nose with blackberry, raspberry and light pine resin scents, all fashioned with wonderful delineation. Later, a hint of wilted rose petal emerges from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a keen line of acidity. This is very elegant and classical Figeac in style. There is a little more linearity, but this feels quite effortless overall. Its buvabilité is perhaps higher than other vintages, even if the likes of the 2020 or 2022 might have longer legs. This becomes spicier with aeration, which seems to prolong the finish, especially on my second visit toward the end of my tastings. Score: 93 - 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2033-2060 |
|||||||||||
[Add to shopping basket] | l'If | St Emilion | £395 | 6x75cl | 90-92 | - | - | 92 | 92-94 | - | |
Hide the tasting notes
The 2024 L'If is an elegant, sleek wine. Crushed flowers, tobacco, cedar, incense, dried herbs and menthol give the 2024 lovely aromatic presence. L'If is light on its feet, with a bit less overt concentration than most years, but there's more than enough persistence to compensate for that, shaping the wine in a style that favors linear energy over volume. Harvest took place between October 4-6 for the Merlots and October 8 for Franc, a much more condensed period between two rains. Aging is in French oak, 50% new. Tasted two times. Score: 92 - 94 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2046 Love the aromatics here, and vibrant ruby colour, this is a real success and bright spot in the vintage, one to look out for, fragrant, tomato leaf, peony, lilac, raspberry fruits, lots of energy and delicate juice, not a powerhouse but skilful and early to medium drinking. 3.37 ph. Harvest 4 to 8 October, really held on to push for maturity. 30% new oak, even after sorting they are at 39hl/h yield here on these clay-limestone soils. Touch of chaptilsation and saignée, showing that even with waiting til October to harvest these things were needed. Score: 92 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2040 The 2024 L'If was picked from October 4 to 6 for the Merlot, then October 8 for the Cabernet Franc. It aged for 12 to 16 months in 50% new oak. This has a fragrant bouquet, with mainly red fruit and slate-like scents. The palate is medium-bodied and balanced, with slightly chalky tannins and a little flesh on the mid-palate. Lightly spiced on the finish, this is a comparatively straightforward L'If compared to previous vintages that will serve as a fine earlier drinking Saint-Émilion. Score: 90 - 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2038 |
|||||||||||
[Add to shopping basket] | La Gaffeliere | St Emilion | £213 | 6x75cl | 93-95 | - | - | 93 | 94-96 | - | |
Hide the tasting notes
The 2024 La Gaffelière confirms its place as one of the top properties in Saint-Émilion in this challenging vintage. Bright and dynamic in the glass, with terrific persistence, the 2024 sizzles with tension. Crushed flowers, mint, lavender and crushed rocks open in the glass. The finesse of the tannins is impossible to miss. The 2024 is not a huge wine, but its finesse is evident. Blue/purplish fruit, slate and clean mineral overtones extend the long, sculpted finish. Tasted three times. Score: 94 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2034-2054 Smoky oak impact on the opening, dense fruit to accompany, with lilac and iris, chalky palma violets, good quality and texture, cloves and cassis. Austerity comes in pretty strongly through the mid palate, this is one to look out for after ageing, and is a potential upscore in bottle. Third vintage since they stepped back from the classification. Harvest 25 September to 7 October. 50% new oak. Tasted twice. Score: 93 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2044 The 2024 La Gaffelière was picked from September 24 to October 8 at 42 hl/ha, aged in 60% new oak including 10% in 500-liter casks. This has a very seductive bouquet with black cherries, boysenberry and light Indian ink scents unfolding in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with succulent tannins, impressive mid-weight density and a crisp, mineral finish. La Gaffelière has been on a run of form recently and the 2024 overcomes the challenges of the vintage with style. Score: 93 - 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2029-2050 |
|||||||||||
[Add to shopping basket] | Laroque | St Emilion | £100 | 6x75cl | 89-91 | - | 83-85 | 93 | 88-90 | - | |
Hide the tasting notes
The 2024 Laroque is a sleek, polished wine made mostly from the Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes plateau in this vintage. Silky and aromatic, with mid-weight structure, the 2024 is attractive. However, the challenges of the vintage are evident in the light mid-palate and soft finish. Élevage will be critical. Tasted two times. Score: 88 - 90 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2039 Offering up aromas of sweet berries, exotic spices, herbs and smoked meats, the 2024 Laroque is medium-bodied, with a ripe core of fruit, assertive tannins and a somewhat carnal, animal finish. Given my expectations for this estate, the 2024 left me disappointed. Score: 83 - 85 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Deep plum colour, cold ash and fennel on the opening, savoury, well judged and well extracted, this is on the slim side, with the focus on cassis bud and rose petals. You probably have to be a bit of a limestone fanatic (as I am) to truly love this vintage of Laroque, because it is less gourmet than in vintages like 2022 and 2023, setting texture and minerality above fruit, but exceptionally well handled by estate director David Suire, and it should soften further ove ageing. Once again a value pick. Score: 93 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2040 The 2024 Laroque has satisfying concentration on the nose with blackberry, wild strawberry and light floral scents. It just needs a little more delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with much lighter tannins than recent vintages under winemaker David Suire. The 2024 is nicely balanced, displaying simple and noticeably tertiary red fruit and modest weight on the finish. Sure, it comes across a bit short compared to stellar wines in recent vintages; nevertheless, it should give up to a decade of drinking pleasure. Score: 89 - 91 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2029-2039 |