2015 Grand Destieu, St-Emilion

Unctuous, deep and super-concentrated, the 2015 Destieux shows the more modern side of Saint-Émilion. Bittersweet chocolate, grilled herbs, plum, violet, new oak and spice are fused together in a texturally rich, sumptuous wine that hits all the right notes. The oak has begun to integrate beautifully in this decidedly flamboyant, hugely delicious wine. Readers who appreciate the more extroverted side of Bordeaux will adore Destieux. Today, it is super-expressive, not to mention flat-out delicious. (AG) (2/2018)

This is very chewy and extracted now. But shows impressive ripe fruit underneath. Wait and see but should be outstanding. (4/2016)

Here's a silky-smooth, Merlot-dominated wine with intense, concentrated black fruit punctuated by sweet oak spices and rounded tannins. It’s bold and powerful, but at the same time quite approachable, and surprisingly soft textured for such a young Bordeaux. Run by Fabienne Lagoubie, this small château in St-Emilion expresses the modern current in Bordeaux winemaking. It’s not that the winemaking is radical or experimental, or parts ways with the traditional style of the region. It’s simply more polished, clean and accessible. Fabienne uses traditional oak barrels with about 60% new French oak, and she also vinifies a small portion in stainless steel, blending to taste for the final product. The wine benefits from both the stainless steel and the oak—one preserves the fresh, vibrant fruit and the other rounds out the wine, presenting a foil for the tannin structure and adding depth to the flavor profile. The result is a lovely young Right Bank wine that is thoroughly ready to drink upon release. The bonus is that this wine also has the intensity and power to age well.