2018 Tour Maillet

Lots of ripe blue fruits, rare steak, smoke tobacco, and chocolate notes emerge from the 2018 Château Tour Maillet (Lagardere), a ripe, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced Pomerol with solid mid-palate depth and outstanding length. Building nicely with time in the glass, it has ripe, focused tannins, a solid spine of acidity, and a good balance between its fruit and structure. It's relatively closed for business at the moment, so give bottles 3-5 years if possible, and it should shine over the following decade.

The 2018 Tour Maillet (Lagardere) is a potent wine. A blast of dark cherry/plum fruit, chocolate, new leather, licorice and espresso are front and center. This is an especially concentrated style, with copious new oak. All the elements are nicely balanced, but its hard not to think all the oak is not really needed. There's plenty of underlying potential and matière here.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Tour Maillet has a nose vaguely scented of stewed plums, dried mulberries and sautéed herbs with a waft of charcoal. The medium-bodied palate has a good amount of herb-laced black fruit with plenty of freshness and a chewy finish.