2018 Chateau des Fougeres La Raisin Graves Rouge

Bottle weight 320 g. 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Machine-harvested. Vinified and aged for 12 months in stainless-steel tanks. Winemaker Dominique Coutiere. RS 1 g/l. 246 stores. Very deep crimson. Fresh, intense fruit on the nose. Correct, fully ripe bordeaux grape flavours and some nice, ripe tannin on the end. Not that much evidence of evolution but it’s firm with a long finish. A higher-priced counterpart to the Des Tourelles Claret? No oak mentioned though the timely mechanical harvest is. Better value elsewhere. (JR)