| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Estèphe |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This Saint Estephe property was formerly known as Capbern Gasqueton and has the same owners and wine-making team as Calon Ségur. The vineyard is 38 hectares and planted 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. It is situated, in one block, between Phelan Segur and Meyney. Quality has jumped massively in recent vintages and this is clearly a source of one of Bordeaux's best bargains.
A perfumed nose of mulberries, dark cherries, earth, black tea, cloves and cedar. Full-bodied with tight, sinewy tannins. Well structured and balanced with a fleshy texture and a flavorful, long finish. Big wine. Drink from 2025.
A blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Capbern is deep garnet-purple in color. It slides out of the glass with eager-to-please scents of crushed black cherries, black raspberries, and fresh blackcurrants, plus suggestions of candied violets and clove oil. The full-bodied palate is laden with juicy black fruits, supported by ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and layered.
I love the nose on the 2019 Château Capbern, a medium to full-bodied, spicy, rich, tobacco and cedar pencil-filled beauty with ripe yet building tannins, a great mix of richness and freshness, and a blockbuster of a finish. It's incredibly impressive, and while it offers pleasure even today, it deserves 5-6 years of bottle age, and I can't imagine it not evolving for two decades.
The 2019 Capbern has improved since I tasted it just after bottling. Finally, it has developed a more elegant bouquet, mainly black fruit fused with cedar and undergrowth scents. It has mustered more classicism. The palate is medium-bodied with a strong graphite element on the entry, fine depth, quite fresh with a structured, gritty finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2025-2045
Tasted blind. Big and bold and voluptuous – much riper and more alcoholic than stereotypical St-Estèphe. A bit charred on the end. Closer to a late-20th-century red than a bordeaux! Very unexpected! 15%
Drink 2025– 2034
The 2019 is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot - this is 10% more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual. Yields were close to the 2018 at 40hl/ha. The wine will be aged for 18 months in 60% new French oak. Deep purple in the glass with an exotic nose of cassis and blackberry. The palate follows with the rich and dark fruit making for an impressive and opulent wine, the oily fruit matching the silky and integrated tannins. A real crowdpleaser that should drink well from a fairly early stage.
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. Barrel sample.
Deep colour to the rim. Powerful, even burly with added muscle this year. Dense fruit with a raisined edge to the aroma. Palate rich, broad and packed with tannin. Hope the fruit will hold. Dry, firm finish. (JL) 15.1%
Drink 2027 – 2034
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Capbern needs a bit of swirling to unlock plum preserves, creme de cassis, and chargrill notes with hints of roses, truffles, and cedar chest. Full-bodied, rich, plush, and seductive, the palate has beautiful harmony and bags of freshness, finishing long and fruity.
This is a gorgeous young sample with wonderful blue fruit and spices, as well as a nice overlay of pretty wood. Medium to full body and firm, silky tannins. Hints of minerals. Better than 2018.
Very deep purple-black in color, the 2019 Capbern explodes from the glass with notes of prunes, baked black cherries and fruitcake plus suggestions of mocha, Chinese five spice, tobacco leaf and cedar chest with a touch of peppercorns. Full-bodied, rich and voluptuous (15.1% alcohol!), the palate has a firm, chewy backbone and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy.
