2018 - Talbot, Saint-Julien

Vibrant plum colour, warm and welcoming aromatics, cloves and turmeric spice, this stretches out through the palate, showing a luscious, satiny texture that reflects the warmth of the vintage, and the slightly higher alcohols than usual (rare at Talbot, that tends to show lower alcohols than its neighbours, like Lafite in Pauillac). Black chocolate, espresso, fennel, cassis and gunsmoke, generous and a little atypical. Special anniversary bottle to celebrate 100 years under the Bignon-Cordier family. 60% new oak for ageing as of this vintage, and Jean-Michel Laporte's first as director.

The 2018 Talbot is deep garnet-purple in color. It offers scents of blackberries and mulberries, plus a touch of dried roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a lively backbone and firm, grainy tannins, finishing on a mineral note.

Not only is the 2018 Talbot the first vintage in which Jean-Michel Laporte was fully in charge, but it comes in a uniquely designed bottle to celebrate the centennial of ownership by the Cordier family. Fortunately, its contents make the grade. This Talbot is well defined and focused on the nose, offering blackberry, bilberry and cedar scents and an attractive floral component that becomes more evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and cohesive, with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity and good depth. Layers of blackberry and cranberry fruit intertwine with cedar and touches of graphite on the finish, completing an excellent Talbot that may improve further with bottle age.