Château Saintayme, St Émilion, 2018
Denis Durantou's 'entry level' wines, that is to say the wines not produced at his flagship Pomerol estate, Chateau L'Eglise Clinet are always rank amongst our 'best value' buys. Saintayme, Chenade, Cruzelles and Montlandrie offer excellent value for money. Denis describes 2018 as a 'Révolutionnaire'. It's a big change at the Durantou estates as Denis has retired from winemaking. It's been an extraordinary run with many exceptional wines, but all good things must come to an end. Saintayme is a 100% Merlot cuvee from a 9 hectare plot. Initially dark and earthy, then some bright sweet berry fruit emerges. There's reasonable concentration and energy, it just lacks a bit of definition.
critic reviews
Produced by the late Denis Durantou of Chateau LEglise Clinet, the 2018 Saintayme is made of 100% Merlot with 30% new oak and 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it rocks up with ready-for-business scents of blackberry preserves, baked plums and boysenberries, plus touches of violets, camphor, charcoal and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate offers expressive black fruit and earthy layers, supported by soft tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing savory.
The 2018 Saintayme has an attractive bouquet of pure blackberry, cedar and pine aromas, becoming more and more expressive with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, quite tight and maybe just needing a little more flesh on the granular finish. A bit dry compared to the Montlandrie or the La Chenade.