Clos du Marquis, St Julien, 2021
67% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 19% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc from yields of 30 hl/ha. This has a higher IPT than 2019 and 2020. Dark and very mineral but with a fresh line of acidity. This feels like a serious wine with a deep core of gravelly cassis. Quite serious, upright, aloof, and sinewy, but finishes with a lovely clear, bright cherry fruit, ripe tannins and a nice sapidity.
critic reviews
A blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 14% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Clos du Marquis has a deep garnet-purple color. An evocative perfume spills out of the glass with scents of lavender oil, crushed blackcurrants, and black raspberries, leading to hints of crushed rocks and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is taut with tight-knit black and red berry flavors, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and minerally. Nice!
A serious and enjoyable Clos du Marquis, plenty of clove, white pepper spice, clear tannic frame here also, you are in the LLC family, these are more readable tannins perhaps but still with a kick, cradling savoury grilled raspberry and cassis fruit. 45% new oak. 34hl/h yield, 4% press wine. A single point upscore.
The 2021 Clos du Marquis has a very expressive and open bouquet at the moment, displaying lavish red fruit, crushed violet, peppermint and cassis scents that veer quite closely to Pauillac in style, though there is less of the graphite element that I commented upon out of barrel). The palate is medium-bodied with juicy red fruit, quite voluminous for this vintage, revealing an infusion of licorice toward the finish with white pepper and clove on the aftertaste. Afford this four or five years in bottle.
From bottle, the 2021 Clos du Marquis is just as impressive and serious as it was in cask. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, lilac, burning embers and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a concentrated core of lively fruit, sweet but abundant tannins and a long, palate-staining finish.