critic reviews
A blend of 65% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Petit-Village has a deep garnet-purple color. Scents of black cherries, juicy black plums, and wild blueberries spill from the glass, with suggestions of cedar chest, rose oil, and chargrill. The medium-bodied palate delivers a great core of black fruit flavors, with a grainy texture and a long, mineral-laced finish.
Well built, plenty of dark chocolate, raspberry leaf, cocoa bean, liqourice, with cassis and plum fruits. The tannins are formal and austere rather than silky, but there is clear precision and finesse. Tasted twice. First full year under the new team after AXA Millésimes sold to the Moulin family of Galleries Lafayette. Augustin Belloy now heading things up for the owning family, with Vincent Priou estate director and Guillaume Fredoux technical director.
The 2021 Petit-Village, matured in 50% new oak, has a well-defined bouquet with blackberry, briar, cedar and a touch of iodine, a little muted at first, but it gains intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and a crisp bead of acidity, lightly spiced with a cohesive and quite persistent finish. This is very harmonious, and there seems to be more substance here than previous off-vintage Petit-Village, testifying to the changes in this estate. It should give up to 20 years' drinking pleasure.
The 2021 Petit Village offers up aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered palate framed by a generously extracted chassis of powdery tannin, concluding with a structured, oak-inflected finish.