Best St Emilion 2019 wines tasted en primeur

Released at a 32% discount to 2018, despite volumes being 30% down, this represented a 'bargain' for lovers of Cheval Blanc. Produced from 41 of...

Gorgeously aromatic and concentrated nose, rich with wild flowers and bramble fruits. Lovely cool blue fruits on the palate, blueberries, plums and black cherries with...

Canon has been on an amazing run since 2015, and the 2019 continues this performance. Carries 14.5% alcohol with ease. Complex aromas and flavours of...

Beautifully expressive nose, really so welcoming with hints of sweet red cherries, raspberries, milk chocolate and touches of perfume too - soft but really defined....

One of the standouts in 2019. Red fruit aromatics are so clear on the nose, strawberries and sweet red cherries with some bramble floral notes...

Compared to the 2018, this vintage displays a cooler aspect to go with the ripe red and black fruit: more tobacco leaf than glycerine. Even...

A remarkable Figeac which, with a yield of just 34hl/ha and using 100% new oak, remains elegant and refined, with none of the alcoholic excess...

Gorgeous ripe aromatic blackcurrants on the nose. Seriously expressive with sweet touches of milk chocolate - an element of Black Forest gateau to this. Direct...

Highly charged and high toned on the nose, smells abundant and seriously expressive. Lovely intensity here, tannins are mouth coating and super persistent but this...

Another extremely successful vintage for Château Rocheyron, combining powerful blackberry, raspberry and cassis fruits, with bitter-edged black chocolate and perfectly-judged tannins that scrape through the...

Excellent quality Pavie, rippling with black fruits. Notably more subdued than in some vintages as the team looks to reframe just slightly the bulging muscles...

A riot of black and red fruit aromas on the nose, this smells lively and expressive. Bright, fruity and vibrant, a real sense of joy...

Rich plum colour. This takes its time to open, is pretty subtle at first, but then explodes in juicy fruit. Clear salinity where you can...

Such a seductive soft perfume to the nose, delicate yet generous aromatics of cherry and rose. The palate is juicy and fresh, charming yet energetic...

One of highest levels of Cabernet Franc since Haut-Brion arrived at the estate, and it makes its mark in all the right places. A gorgeous...

An estate with a gathering sense of excitement around it, and once again proves why with the 2019. Sleek and flavourful, with the insistent tug...

I love the balance on display here, of powerful and softly whispering fruits, a tightrope of acidity and tannins giving structure. Great stuff, with the...

The makings of an exceptional wine in 2019 which, for me, narrowly beats the 2018, balancing excellent definition, succulence, ripeness of fruit, velvety sleek tannins,...

Quite different in feel and weight than the others in the Maltus range, this is a little fresher, with higher Cabernet Franc that gives it...

As ever a lesson in terroir, because 100% Merlot but with low pH from cool clay-limestone soils that means it can be austere in the...

New winemaker headed over from Haut-Bailly for what is the 50th vintage at La Dominique under the Fayat family. The heat of the vintage you...

Just on the right side of unfussy, giving poise and juice and a sense of the vineyard. Floral notes, raspberry and blackberry fruits fill the...

Sweet blackberry fruit from the first nose, intense tannic structure with lovely depth and grip. Excellent precision that doesn't take away from the flesh of...

As ever this is a true highlight of the Pavie stable, still with muscles and concentration but accompanied by the most gorgeous seam of freshness,...