2018 Clos de Sarpe
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Tasting notes
This is very juicy and salty with dark-berry and walnut aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, tight and savory. White pepper at the end. Unique. Has beautiful drive and intensity. Exciting wine!
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The inky colored 2018 Château Clos de Sarpe is a beauty and shows the incredible quality of this vintage. Coming from a tiny vineyard (3.7 hectares) and a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc again in 70% new barrels, it offers a thrilling bouquet of blue fruits, kirsch, violets, iron, and earth. With medium to full body, building tannins, remarkable purity, and flawless balance, it’s going to benefit from just short-term cellaring and cruise for two decades or more. Tasted twice.
Clos de Sarpe remains one of the most distinctive wines in all of Bordeaux. Unctuous and extravagantly ripe to its core, Clos de Sarpe exudes a level of sheer richness that differentiates it pretty much from all other wines in the region. Raspberry jam, blood orange, mint and wild flowers build in a rich Saint-Émilion endowed with off the charts intensity and textural richness. The blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. I loved it. Tasted two times.
About the producer
This small Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé estate is a FINE+RARE favourite. Run by Maylis Marcenat, the fourth generation of her family to do so, the 3.7-hectare vineyard has old vines and limestone soils, producing wines of incredible freshness and great ageability.