2021 Chateau Talbot

Tasting notes:

Matured for up to 18 months in French oak barrels (60% new), Chateau Talbot has a generous bouquet. It’s a racy and complex wine, with notes of tobacco and licorice, silky tannins, and not the slightest hint of austerity.

Producer description:

Château Talbot is one of the best-known Bordeaux wine estates, not surprisingly because it takes its name from John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who in 1453 suffered the ignominy of losing the battle, and with it his life, which allowed Bordeaux and its vineyards to slip back into French control after belonging to the British Crown for over 340 years. In the last century, this 4eme Grand Cru Classe has been owned by the Cordier family, and the wines have long enjoyed a reputation for solid dependability. It is one of the largest estates in the Médoc with its 100-hectare single vineyard situated west of the hamlet of Beychevelle, on the banks of the Gironde estuary on hilltops of alluvial gravel. Talbot has a reputation for consistency and is one of the most carefully made and reliable of the St-Julien Cru Classé. The best examples are richly aromatic with a bouquet of cedarwood and vanilla scented cassis fruits and with a palate packed with well-delineated, ripe, black fruits and finely integrated tannins.