Château Cantemerle, 5eme Cru Classé, Haut Medoc,

Intense plum colour, this has lift and attractive leafy notes, full of character and carefully-shaped and extracted tannins, cassis fruits, black chocolate and liqourice. Old school in feel, finessed and not overly sleek, full of heart. 35% new oak, 43hl/ha yield.

The 2023 Cantemerle has an attractive nose that offers more fruit concentration than its peers, raspberry and crushed strawberry, light peppery notes. The palate has good body on the entry, but it doesn't quite possess phenolic ripeness right on the finish. Could this be subsumed during the élevage? A third sample verified a nagging, albeit slight vegetal aspect but let's see how it will show once in bottle.