Château Soutard 2019

Engaging spicy, minty, blackberry and plum aromas and flavours, ending with a cool blueberry fruit aspect. Every bit as good as the 2018, and potentially better (a bit closed at this stage). With more pronounced diurnal temperature differences in 2019, a fresher vintage than 2018, even if summer was hot (heat wave at the end of July). Long finish. Cellar three to five years.

A pretty, dark nose of ripe blackberries, blackcurrants, dark cherries, resin, tobacco and toasted oak. Medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Balanced and layered with a velvety texture and a fruity, chewy finish. Drink from 2024.

The 2019 Soutard has a pleasant bouquet of red currant, cranberry and loam, revealing touches of dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, with supple tannins, though I would like more complexity on the finish considering the vintage.

Full-bodied, rich, lush, silky and vibrant, the wine is packed to the gills with layers of earthy, dark red fruits, flowers, freshness and purity. Elegant in style, the wine is medium-bodied, refined and clean, with a beautiful purity of fruit that shines. This is the finest vintage of Soutard I have ever tasted! Drink from 2024, 2050.

Dark ruby, violet tints, discreet bright rim. Ripe plums, blackberry confit, candied orange zest, some nougat, delicate floral nuances. Medium complexity, sweet extract, good freshness, integrated tannins, long length, subtle sweetness in the aftertaste, a multi-faceted food match with some future.

A solid step up, the Grand Vin 2019 Château Soutard is based on 67% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, with the balance Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It has beautiful red and blue fruits as well as loads of floral, spicy, incense-like nuances that develop with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the vintage style, is balanced, elegant, and a joy to drink. It will keep for 10–15 years.

Deep ruby. Intense forest-berry bouquet, followed by red fruit compote and licorice. On the dense palate with a soft texture, medium body, and ripe extract. Focused finish with red berries and a slightly intrusive, edgy acidity; it lacks flesh on the bone, ending finely firm and rounded.

Kunz barrel sample 2020: (67% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 14.8% vol. alcohol) Restrained, light bouquet, red berries, cherries, old wood. Firm, light palate with sweet fruit, medium tannin, sweet aromatics, slender structure, dry finish.

(67% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 14.8% vol. alcohol) Restrained, light bouquet, red berries, cherries, old wood. Firm, light palate with sweet fruit, medium tannin, sweet aromatics, slender structure, dry finish. 16/20 2024 - 2038

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Soutard gallops out with baked plums, boysenberries, and lifted cherries scents plus hints of Indian spices and camphor. Full-bodied, the palate has a firm, grainy texture and plenty of freshness supporting the generous fruit, finishing a little warm.

A mouthwatering nose with greater aromatic purity. The attack is velvety and juicy, unfolding into an elegant, deeply layered structure, perfectly extended on the finish by its limestone terroir. A very fine exercise in style.

The agronomic care given to the vine leads to markedly less pronounced extractions and results in greater energy and sensitivity in the texture of the latest vintages. The graceful yet generous 2019, still in its cocoon, hints at deep potential coupled with an elegance that now defines the Soutard style.

Superb freshness in the 2019 bouquet, where Soutard once again underscores its freshness and precision. Compared with 2018, it is above all on the palate that 2019 outpaces 2018 (without relegating it), highlighting its harmony and the management of power. A brilliant wine that not only lives up to the ambitions announced by Soutard 2018, but even endorses them. It’s truly great.

The nose is beautifully elegant, fine and precise, offering lovely richness with finesse/delicacy. It reveals notes of fleshy Boysenberry, fleshy raspberry and, more subtly, small fleshy fruits, combined with fine hints of violet and hazelnut, as well as a discreet, almost cedar-like touch. The palate is silky, delicate and balanced, all about precision and delicacy, offering airy richness, fine-grained texture, lovely definition, a pleasant chew, a lively acid framework and plenty of subtlety. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy cherry and vibrant blackcurrant, and more lightly juicy blueberry, joined by touches of small blue fruits, chocolate, hazelnut and toast, along with a discreet hint of chocolate and caramelization. The tannins are precise, supple and elegant. A lovely, complete wine, all about finesse.

Dark, intense, beautiful purple color. The nose is a little discreet for now, but fruity, pure, and delicate. Delicate on the attack, particularly flavorful at mid-palate, both very smooth and energetic, the wine develops with abundant fruit. It stretches out on the finish with complex flavors, offering classy texture and taste. Tannins with no hard edges. Long and very good.