Château Cantemerle, 5eme Cru Classé, Haut Medoc, 2023
Another excellent effort from this Medoc Fifth Growth. A classical bouquet of cassis, cooked meats and smouldering embers leads to a fine, juicy mid-palate of hedgerow fruit, supported by well judged tannins. Nice sapidity to the fruit, fresh and engaging. Not the most profound wine of the vintage, but it'll provide lots of early to mid-term drinking pleasure.
critic reviews
Stands right up there with the best Left Banks, great quality, full of character and savour, smoky grilled nose shows evident but well-integrated oak, rose bud, spiced plum, cassis, cocoa bean, crayon, fine tannins, a ton of ageing ahead, great stuff. 35% new oak, 43hl/ha yield. single point upscore.
The 2023 Cantemerle has a straightforward bouquet with blackberry and tobacco scents, moderate complexity, quite old school in style. The palate is medium-bodied with black fruit, still with that nagging vegetal note on the finish. Will that be subsumed or turn into another flavor? I have to be prudent with my score.
Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2023 Cantemerle leaps with bold notions of black raspberries, baked plums, and dried cranberries, followed by hints of dried Provence herbs, black olives, and fallen leaves. Light to medium-bodied, the palate has appealing purity and vivacity with red and black berry flavors sparked by herbal accents and textured with chewy tannins, finishing just a tad abruptly. The blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc, with the inclusion of 14% press wine. It is aging in 35% new oak. This review is based on my third tasting, which was a fresher sample.
The 2023 Cantemerle offers up aromas of dark berries, cherries, mint and herbs, followed by a medium-bodied, round and fleshy palate that's a touch varietal in profile this year.