Château Saint-Pierre 2021

Château Saint-Pierre is one of the classed growths of Saint-Julien, an appellation on Bordeaux's Left Bank ranked in the 1855 classification. The wine is built on Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, planted on the deep gravel croupes that define the Médoc. These gravel mounds drain freely and store the day's heat, which helps late-ripening Cabernet reach full maturity, while the clay beneath feeds the vine with water through the summer. Cabernet grown here gives cassis, structure and the cedar and tobacco character that comes with age, and Merlot fills the mid-palate with softer red fruit. The 2021 spent sixteen months in oak barrels, where measured oxygen exchange rounds the tannins and adds spice and a fine toast. Saint-Julien sits between the power of Pauillac and the perfume of Margaux, and this wine reflects that balance. The colour is deep, the nose shows red and black currant, cherry, cedar, tobacco leaf and a savoury, earthy note; the palate is medium to full bodied, firm and elegant, the tannins tightly grained and the finish long. It will reward cellaring. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant. Ideal with lamb and beef.