Château Capion, Le Songe d’Éocène Rouge, 2016

The red wine DNA of Capion,' says Claude Gros, 'is Syrah', and for this special cuvée the estate’s most expressive, high-grown Syrah, from the Les Juges parcel on Eocene-epoch limestones, has been blended with less than 10% of Mourvèdre and Grenache. This cask sample is super-showy in aroma: a purée of hedgerow blackberries swirled together with black plum and sweet blackcurrant. The palate is dense, deep and profound, intensely fruited yet very pure and refined in style, with fine-grained tannic wealth, finishing sweetly but uncloyingly. This wine is destined to turn heads, and it may yet merit a higher score still in time. 94-96 points.