St-Emilion 2017: Top wines re-tasted in the bottle
Choose carefully in this frost-hit 2017 vintage and you can still find excellent wines, while fans of St-Emilion may find it interesting to try the unusual blends in some wines.
See all St-Emilion 2017 wines re-tasted in bottle
Read Jane Anson’s full Right Bank 2017 in bottle report
All reviews published online exclusively for Premium subscribers
Of all the big-name appellations, St-Emilion was most impacted by the late spring frosts of 2017.
Some estates, such as Château Corbin, Château Barde-Haut, Château Jean Faure and Château Chauvin made either nothing or only tiny amounts.
There were consequently far fewer wines than usual at the tasting of Grand Cru Classé wines for St-Emilion 2017.
There are 49 members of this club, but only a little more than 30 were showing wines.
Many of those that did make wines have unusual blends. Figeac, for example, had 10% Cabernet Franc, the lowest amount to date at the estate, but you also find the low levels of Cabernet Franc in Angélus, and higher-than-average levels of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot in several others.
There are also style changes, most notably in Troplong Mondot that saw the arrival of Aymeric de Gironde in this year and a break with the older more extracted style of the wine.
St-Emilion was an enjoyable appellation to taste in bottle, as it was during en primeur, and there are some excellent wines to be discovered. But, austerity is overly dominant in many.
Look out for: Château Canon, Beausejour Becot, Clos Fourtet, Pavie Macquin, Troplong Mondot, Valandraud and TrotteVieille.
See Jane Anson’s top St-Emilion 2017 wines re-tasted in bottle
The list comprises wines which scored 94 or above.
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Château Angélus, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, Bordeaux, France, 2017
Some frost impact (seen in the 70% Merlot and lower Cabernet Franc than usual), but clearly not getting in the way of success, this Angélus...
2017
Château AngélusSt-Émilion
Château Bélair-Monange, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
This has the austerity of limestone in 2017 but it also has the well-worked, delicate flesh of these exemplary soils, and the careful inching forward...
2017
Château Bélair-MonangeSt-Émilion
Château Troplong Mondot, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
The first year of what has been a major stylistic shift at the property, with a mix of both evident changes - bringing the harvest...
2017
Château Troplong MondotSt-Émilion
Château Pavie, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, Bordeaux, France, 2017
Excellent concentration and freshness with linear, rich black fruits. You can really feel the crunchy, impressive layers of cigar box, blackberry and slate. It slowly...
2017
Château PavieSt-Émilion
Château Canon, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
Canon remains pretty austere at this stage with the Cabernet Franc dominating. It's not as immediately seductive as some years, but you can feel the...
2017
Château CanonSt-Émilion
Château Pavie Macquin, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
Powerful but well-rounded and carefully extracted, this has the St-Emilion confident power but tons of wonderful slate character to hold everything in check. There are...
2017
Château Pavie MacquinSt-Émilion
Clos Fourtet, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
While lacking aromatic intensity, the palate exudes breadth and density. One encounters some palate steeliness akin to the 2011 vintage and 2006 ripe fruit warmth,...
2017
Clos FourtetSt-Émilion
Château Valandraud, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
Rich, layered, complex, a winner in a difficult vintage, full of juice and salinity. Feels alive, with the natural break of the vintage nicely played...
2017
Château ValandraudSt-Émilion
Château Trotte Vieille, St-Émilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Bordeaux, France, 2017
This is definitely an impressive 2017 with white pepper spice showcasing its own character that diverts sharply from St Emilion's fruitbombs. It's good quality, grown...
2017
Château Trotte VieilleSt-Émilion
