Clos du Marquis, St Julien, 2018
We're big fans of Clos du Marquis. This Jean-Hubert Delon wine is always pure and ravishing, sleek and honest, a proper wine that expresses its terroir and is never plastered with make-up - a natural beauty that will age with grace and charm. A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, this hails from a separate plot to the west of the D2. For the first time (we can remember) there is a second wine called La Petite Marquise, so there is greater selection for Clos du Marquis. This is a connoisseur's wine, it's athletic, graceful, sleek and floral. It's so composed and classy with clear detailed red berry fruit, cherries, cool cassis and fine minerals. The palate is all noble fruit - focussed, tight knit and persistent. As always, there's no puppy fat, this is svelte, intense, seamless fruit with superb tannin integration - there's a super sense of tension and so much verve. A wine for purists!
critic reviews
Clos du Marquis 2018 has a deep garnet purple color. It rocks up with open-knit notes of blackcurrants, plums, and blueberries, plus suggestions of tree bark, pencil lead, and lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers a good core of pure black fruits and a firm, grainy texture, finishing long and refreshing.
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. The wine has 14.5% alcohol and was aged in 55% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple colored, it strolls confidently out of the glass with notes of warm cassis, ripe black plums and boysenberries and hints of underbrush, cedar chest, graphite and black olives plus a touch of baking spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with juicy blackberry layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long with an invigorating burst.
The 2018 Clos du Marquis is consistent with my tasting note from barrel. It has a perfumed, camphor-tinged bouquet featuring plenty of brambly red fruit, and maybe just a hint of dark chocolate loitering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and quite saline in the mouth with fine depth. It is not the most complex Clos du Marquis that I have tasted, but I appreciate the persistent black pepper aftertaste, which is quite Pauillac in style. Very fine.