2018 Soutard, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival)

SKU #1530297 97 points Jeb Dunnuck

The flagship 2018 Château Soutard checks in as 61% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It's hands down the finest wine I've tasted from this estate and offers a thrilling bouquet of cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as notes of camphor, tobacco, dried flowers, and dried rose petals. Full-bodied and flawlessly balanced, with silky tannins and that rare richness without weight character that's the hallmark of truly great wines, it's going to benefit from 3-4 years (it's brilliant even today) and have 20-25 years of prime drinking. Hats off to the team at Soutard! (3/2021)

93-95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Blended of 61% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Soutard features notes of warm plums, baked blueberries and blackberry pie with hints of fragrant earth, truffles, tapenade and lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has great elegance and sophistication, with plush tannins and wonderful freshness supporting the subtle fruit layers through the long finish. (LPB) (4/2019)

94 points Vinous

The 2018 Soutard is an inky, exuberant wine. Raspberry jam, mocha, licorice, cedar and blood orange saturate the palate. Sweet floral/spiced top notes add lift, but Soutard is mostly a wine of textural resonance and creaminess. Ripe, silky tannins wrap around the succulent finish. (AG) (3/2021)

94 points Wine Enthusiast

From the vineyard that surrounds one of the grandest chateaux in Saint-Emilion, this wine brings richness, complexity and density. A blend that unusually includes Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, it is a structured, firm wine that emphasizes tannins as much as the black-currant fruits. (RV) (5/2021)

93 points Decanter

The color is deep and the nose refined with plenty of lift and freshness, the limestone soils evident. The attack on the palate is lively but smooth, the tannins finely honed. There’s good depth on the mid-palate and the freshness persists throughout a long, clean finish. Certainly this is one of the best Soutards I can remember in recent times. (JL) (3/2021)

92 points James Suckling

Plums and light prunes with conifer and nuts on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with round, creamy tannins and a juicy finish. (1/2021)

K&L Notes

92 points Neal Martin in Vinous: "The 2018 Soutard was backward but impressive from barrel. In bottle it seems to have opened up, presenting raspberry, blackberry, undergrowth and light tarry aromas, almost understated at first but blossoming with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, and fleshy and refined toward the finish, delivering mineral-rich black fruit." (03/2021)