Château Potensac, Médoc, 2025
There aren't many value buys that we'll be recommending wholeheartedly, but the 2025 Potensac is one that deserves special mention. A classic Delon wine, smart, vivid, fine-grained with plenty of cherry and damson fruit, lots of grip and class. There's lots of wine here. Give it five years and it'll be a really enjoyable glass of claret.
critic reviews
The 2025 Potensac was cropped at 28 hl/ha between September 12 and 22. Matured in 20% new oak barrels, this has quite a flamboyant bouquet with layers of black cherry, blueberry and violet, almost Margaux-like in style, with a touch of pencil shavings underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with edgy tannins on the entry, quite powerful, a little sapid, good density and a muscular finish that should be tempered during its élevage plus bottle age. Long-term Potensac.
Vibrant, vivid, deep brambled autumnal fruits, good lift and character, sappy if slightly raw tannins that will soften over ageing, all the building blocks are there. 28hl/ha. 20% new oak. 3.57 pH. 12.1% press wine. Winemaker and cellar master Sébastien Herfray, overall technical director across the Las Cases properties of Michael Georges. Tasted twice.
This estate is always reliable, but I was taken aback by just how good the 2025 Potensac is. A blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and the rest Merlot, from vines averaging over 60 years of age, it offers up aromas of dark berries, crème de cassis and iris, followed by a medium- to full-bodied, layered and concentrated palate with excellent density, high-quality tannins and a long, perfumed finish. The 2025 may well be the best wine ever produced at this estate.