Clos du Marquis 2018

The 2018 Clos du Marquis has a rich and forward bouquet with layers of red berry fruit mixed with camphor and touches of iron filings. The palate is rich and powerful, rounded in texture with white pepper and thyme infusing the black fruit. This is a voluminous and powerful Clos du Marquis with depth and girth, leading to a tannic finish that will need a few years to soften. Good potential. Drink 2023-2045.

The 2018 Clos du Marquis is composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, with 13% press wine added back to the blend. Grapes were harvested September 18 to October 10, with yields of 35.5 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine has 14.5% alcohol. It will be aged in barriques, 55% new. The finished blend was put into barrels last December. Deep purple-black in color, it displays flamboyant scents of kirsch, crushed black cherries and warm cassis with hints of cinnamon stick, underbrush and chocolate box plus a waft of sandalwood. Full-bodied and built like a brick house with firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular fruit, it finishes long and spicy.

The purple-fruit and black-olive character with violet undertones is wonderful here. Full-bodied, yet reserved and intense. Finesse. Graphite and minerality. Layered.

The 2018 Clos du Marquis is a powerful, heady Saint-Julien. Smoke, cedar, tobacco, menthol, licorice, iron, scorched earth and gravel all run through this potent, virile Saint-Julien. In 2018, Clos du Marquis is especially tannic. There is so much to like about Clos de Marquis in 2018, but it will need time in bottle. Best of all, it should be a solid value. The blend is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. Tasted two times.

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc. 55% new oak, pH 3.64. Barrel sample.
Deep purple core and bright purple rim. Deep, dark and charry. Combination of ripe and intense cassis and a rocky, more savoury quality to add complexity, yet it's scented too. Tannins are incredibly fine, many layered, dry and yet supple. And great freshness. A very good second wine. (JH) 14.5%
Drink 2025-2038

Deep purple colour, with a rich black-fruited nose that is accented with light, savoury spices. The palate is full bodied and structured with rich, ripe tannins framing a dense core of blackcurrant and cedar. The spices are subtle, adding a light fragrance and lift to the power of the wine. Impressive and brooding, this will need a few years to settle after bottling before reaching its peak.

Rocking stuff, the 2018 Clos du Marquis checks in 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that hit 14.5% alcohol with a healthy pH of 3.64 and an IPT of 79. It boasts a deep, saturated purple color as well as ripe, powerful, yet complex aromatics. Full-bodied and rich, with a stacked mid-palate, this beauty builds on the palate with ripe, polished tannin, ample oomph, and a great finish. It’s a powerful, concentrated wine from the team at Léoville Las Cases that will benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age and keep for two decades.

(64 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 Merlot, 6 Cabernet Franc) | 55% new oak | 14.5% alc | 79 IPT This is a restrained and not too demonstrative Clos de Marquis with lovely texture and length and also a silkiness which is incredibly attractive already. The tannins counterbalance the fruit perfectly and the overall feel is of an incredibly good wine with superb freshness and plum fruit which is not too dark or overbearing. I have no doubt that this wine will drink much earlier than the 2016, which is also a favourite.