Vieux Chateau Mazerat 2018

The 2018 Vieux Château Mazeret is exotic on the nose, especially in the context of the vintage, presenting very ripe, brash scents of black cherries, violets, dates and flecks of dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet opening, black cherries intermingling with hoisin and touches of brown spice. It wrests back some control toward the finish, but there is a sense of dryness that concerns me.

Score: 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023 - 2038 Date: 23 August 2021

Normally one of the sexier, more opulent wines in the lineup from Maltus, the 2018 Vieux Château Mazerat checks in as 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc that was vinified and aged in 80% new French oak. It's slightly more restrained in 2018, yet still brings beautiful fruit and richness. Deep purple/ruby-hued, with a brooding bouquet of blackcurrants, dark chocolate, candied orange, sandalwood, and violets, it's another wine from this estate that blossoms beautifully with air and already has complex, layered aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied 2018 with ripe, chalky tannins, a layered, focused texture, serious mid-palate depth, and a great finish. This gorgeous wine needs 4-6 years of bottle age and is going to evolve for two decades or more.

Score: 96 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2025 - 2045 Date: 22 July 2021

Vieux Château Mazerat is from the JCP Maltus portfolio of skillfully crafted Saint-Émilion wines. Neil White is the head winemaker, and Thomas Duclos is a consultant here. This vineyard is bordered by Château Canon on three sides and by Angélus on the fourth side. It includes a parcel of Cabernet Franc that was planted in 1947 on clay over limestone. A blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Vieux Château Mazerat sashays out of the glass with beautiful notions of red roses, black raspberries, plum preserves and star anise with gentle, underlying wafts of redcurrant jelly, chocolate-covered cherries, menthol and espresso. Full-bodied, the palate delivers a rock-solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and lovely freshness supporting the concentrated red and black fruit layers, finishing long and perfumed.

Score: 95 - 97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 23 April 2019

The Cabernet Franc makes its appearance here in greater quantity than in some of the other Maltus wines, bringing the alcohol level down a little and giving some gorgeous definition and lift. It won't surprise you that it makes this my favourite of the Maltus line up. It has clear minerality and seductively sweet cassis and blackberry jam flavours, joined by chocolate, slate and plenty of exotic spice. These wines have impact and personality, and this powerful example is the best. Harvested between 1 and 10 October. 80% new oak used for both malolactic fermentation and ageing. 3.76pH.

Score: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2026-2037 Date: 04 April 2019

Fresh and rounded in feel, with raspberry and plum compote flavors. Light anise and mineral accents emerge on the finish.

Score: 89 - 92 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 01 April 2019