Château Potensac, Médoc, Bordeaux, France, 2015

Concentrated cassis fruit – more class than expected, and will show very well. The best Beaumont so far.

Excellent concentration on the nose, which carries on through the palate. The oldest Cabernet Franc vines of the estate go into this wine (making up 17% of the blend), and are around 100 years old. A clear step up from Chapelle, and great quality for such a well-priced wine. They selected heavily to make sure of this, with around 50% first wine, compared to 70% in 2016.

Under the same ownership as Léoville Las Cases, Potensac is a consistent and well made wine. The nose is restrained, but there’s no lack of fresh blackberry and blackcurrant fruit aromas. Mediumbodied, it’s lively and bright, with some good concentration and surprising finesse for the Médoc. The finish is quite long and although this is accessible now, it should also age well as the balance is excellent.

One might have expected Potensac to have produced an intimidating wine in this fine vintage, but it’s actually quite accessible and fluid. The nose is sweet and ripe, with elegant cherry and blackcurrant aromas. The tannins are firm but ripe, giving grip, but there’s complexity and spice too. Assertive and long.