Château Larmande 2018

Still reserved, with very pure, classic ageing notes; supple on the attack, fully developing, with well-integrated tannins that even get slightly lost in its fiery richness; don’t cellar it for too long.

The 2018 Larmande is composed of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it gracefully wafts out of the glass with fragrant scents of kirsch, wild blueberries and plum preserves, plus hints of violets, sassafras, clove oil and forest floor. The full-bodied palate is rich and opulent, featuring perfumed black fruit preserves and a velvety texture, lifted by seamless freshness and finishing long and mineral laced. It is delicious right now but will cellar for a good 18+ years.

This classically luscious wine is full of ripe Merlot, with swathes of blackberry fruits. A solid structure behind this exuberant fruitiness suggests the wine has a rich, full future. The wine will age over the medium term. Drink from 2025.

High Cabernet percentage and this certainly comes through in its black savoury fruit character, and in its overall depth and concentration. Coffee grounds add a touch of bitterness through the close of play that keeps things from getting overpowering. Enjoyable. 60% new oak, 10% amphora.

Aromas of plum, chocolate, walnut and violet follow through to a full body with creamy tannins and a fresh finish. Lovely tightness and intensity. Very well done for this vintage. Drink after 2024.

81% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon; 60% new oak. Barrel sample. Black core with smudgy crimson rim. Pure, ripe blackcurrant on the nose. Generous and smooth, tastes more New World than Bordeaux, but there’s harmony and overall a gentleness in a powerful vintage. Milk-chocolate aftertaste. (JH)

The 2018 Larmande is ripe and generous on the nose, featuring red berry fruit, undergrowth, fig and light brown spices. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, but this has a jarring sweet-and-sour finish, greenness underlying the carapace of sweetness and leaving a bitter note on the aftertaste. A bit disappointing.

Smoke, spice box, espresso, licorice, plums and cherries shoot from the glass with ease. Medium-bodied, soft, elegant and fresh, with a solid blast of sweet cherries, licorice and cocoa coated plums, this is probably the finest vintage of Chateau Larmande ever produced. The wine is a blend of 81% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Another consistent source for outstanding wines, the 2018 Château Larmande checks in as 81% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon. This beauty does everything right, offering a rocking bouquet of black raspberries, cassis, spicy oak, and chalky minerality, medium to full body, a round, expansive, seamless texture, and a great finish. Beautifully done, it will continue drinking nicely for another 10-15 years.

Purple garnet with a lighter rim. Blueberry-driven bouquet with a fine hint of spice. On the palate, it’s soft and pleasant, with well-rounded tannins. Not spectacular, but well made.

Kunz Barrel Sample 19: floral, light, sweet bouquet, red berries, oak, tobacco. Firm, slender palate with sandy tannins, medium aromatics, an angular structure, light fruit, and a dry finish.

Floral, light, sweet bouquet with red berries, wood and tobacco. Taut, slender palate with sandy tannins, medium aromatic intensity, an angular structure, light fruit and a dry finish. 16/20 2024 - 2035

The 2018 Larmande is deep garnet-purple in color. The nose features black raspberries, Morello cherries, and fresh blackcurrants, plus hints of dusty soil and cracked black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, it is a little herbal in the mouth with chewy tannins and a savory finish.

Sappy, juicy and flavorful, the aromatic expression of Larmande 2018—precise and beautifully fruit-driven—reveals a perfectly judged extraction from fruit brought to full ripeness in a perilous year. This maturity lays the wine’s foundation, enhanced by careful ageing that allows the vintage to express itself while preserving balance.

Even if the bouquet reveals some warm notes, the style is no less convincing! In fact, it offers so much fruit and freshness. This wine has the merit of reminding us that you shouldn’t taste with preconceived ideas, but with an open mind! Lush and generous on the palate (which reassures me a little), the wine is inviting, harmonious, and already very enjoyable. Still, let’s not lose sight of the fact that it has precise, silky tannins, ready for at least a decade!

Logo on the cork: AL