Château Rouget 2018

Slightly loud licorice aromatics: full-bodied and fiery on the palate, yet with well-integrated tannins.

Grilled oak influence on the nose, with excellent density of flavors across the palate. Needs time to open up, but it works and truly shows confidence and personality. 30% new oak.

Blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, mushrooms and earthy notes. Spices as well. It’s full-bodied with an unctuous texture. Balanced and savory with a fine, chewy tannin structure. Flavorful finish with length. One of the best ever from here. Try after 2025.

The 2018 Rouget is extraordinarily ripe on the nose, featuring luscious black cherries, kirsch, iodine and raisin aromas, becoming quite lactic with continued aeration. To be honest, I find that the ripeness shades the Pomerol DNA, so that served blind I would struggle to identify where it is from. The palate is, again, very ripe and dense, offering plush, sweet tannins, plenty of new oak and a decadent, dark-chocolate-tinged finish. This is a huge wine, but it flirts with just being a bit trop.

Showing much better in bottle than in barrel, the wine is full-bodied, rich, round and supple. Layers of silky, sweet, black and deep red fruits meld perfectly with spice, cocoa, licorice, espresso bean and wet earth. The fruit-filled finish combines length, lift and finesse. Give this 3–5 years before popping a cork.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate bright rim. Delicately floral, black cherries, fresh tangerine zests, attractive bouquet. Juicy, elegant, ripe cherries, round and equipped with integrated tannins, chocolatey finish, good length, a multi-faceted food wine.

The 2018 Château Rouget is a beauty and well worth seeking out, especially for those who love the richer, more full-bodied side to Pomerol. Lots of black fruits, chocolate, leafy herbs, and cedar notes emerge from this beauty, which has silky tannins, wonderful overall balance, and a great, great finish. This is one pleasure-bent, sexy 2018 that can be drunk any time over the coming 15 years or more.

Kunz barrel sample 19: velvety, dense, powerful, finely peppery bouquet, strawberries, blackcurrant jelly, mint, flint. Dense, creamy, full palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated aromatics, a finely opulent, finely muscular structure, long, full, aromatic finish. Can still improve.

Silky, dense, powerful bouquet with fine pepper notes, strawberries, blackcurrant jelly, mint, flint. Dense, creamy, full palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated aromatics, a subtly opulent, finely muscular structure, and a long, full, aromatic finish. Can still improve. 18/20 2025 - 2042

The 2018 Rouget is deep garnet-purple in color. It sings of plum preserves, chocolate-covered cherries, and fruitcake, plus hints of camphor and Chinese five spice. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and slightly grainy, with a lively line and plenty of exotic spices, finishing long.

The Rouget vineyard was established in the 14th century. It covers 17 hectares and consists of gravelly and clay-gravel soils. Ageing takes place in 30% new barrels and 70% one-wine barrels. The average annual production amounts to 50,000 bottles. Beautifully intense bouquet with notes of licorice and blackcurrant. Lively character with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. The wine has gained in elegance and fine-grained tannins. Fruity finish with good persistence.

Dark, intense red color. Fruity, creamy nose, and above all fresher than usual. This wine has often shown as overripe. Soft on the attack, fruity and flavorful as it unfolds, pleasant and perfumed, the palate confirms the more precise fruitiness perceived on the nose. Normal length. All the samples tasted lived up to this promise.