2023 Château Laroque, St Emilion, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Medium intensity ruby, this is a little reserved at first, in the best way, in that it has the hidden depths that are just so promising during En Primeur, real sense of sapidity, squid ink, violet reflections, extremely vibrant, really like this, blueberry, sage, slate, lift on the finish, delicious. Beaumartin family, David Suire winemaker.
Drink 2028 - 2042
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (April 2024)
The 2023 Laroque has an outstanding bouquet that shades many of its peers. It conveys transparency and mineralité at a higher level and leaves you wanting more. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins that frame the pure black cherry and raspberry fruit. There is structure here, and the finish is notably longer than other wines of its class. This is very impressive, and I can imagine is ageing with style.
Drink 2027 - 2050
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (April 2024)
Tasted two times
The 2023 Laroque might be the best wine David Suire has made since taking over here a few years ago. What I admire most about Laroque is its classicism—there is plenty of that on display here. Bright acids and persistent beams of supporting tannin frame dark-toned fruit, lavender, rose petal, graphite and sweet spice in a Saint-Émilion that impresses with its vibrancy and delineation. Superb.
Drink 2033 - 2053
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2024)
Exhibiting aromas of dark, minty berries, bay leaf, and creamy new oak, the 2023 Laroque is medium to full-bodied. It has a sweet core of fruit, powdery tannins, and a penetrating mineral finish.
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2024)
Cask sample
Good colour. Dark-fruit aroma with a fresh, chalky edge. Smooth, well-worked tannins and persistence on the finish. Limestone terroir clearly marked. Perhaps a tad light in fruit weight.
Drink 2028 - 2038
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (May 2024)
99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.
This is full and substantial, with firm tannins and a crunchy finish. Lots of blue fruit, blackberry, crushed-stone and mineral character. Very structured.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (May 2024)
Really perfumed nose, highly scented with purple flowers and dark ripe fruit - blackcurrant, damson plum and black cherry. Deep aromatics with lots of tobacco and clove spice on the nose. It’s heady, strongly scented and alive. Cool and crisp on the palate, smooth, silky, and effortless in the tannin presentation. It’s juicy and clean, so bright, but not sour or tart, just the right side, so it’s lifted but not overly austere. Once the acidity calms down, the salty mineral base comes, giving lots of liquorice, wet stone, and graphite tones, putting you squarely on limestone.
The fruit is ripe, and the expression has the softest chew but keeps a relatively sleek frame. It’s a bit minty. I would have thought there was more Cabernet in the blend than there is. It’s not so layered, but it’s certainly finessed and graceful on the palate, with lots of precision and movement from start to finish. One that makes you want another sip straight away. 3.42pH. It’s a great wine from winemaker David Suire. A yield of 46hl/ha. Ageing 50% new oak.
Drink 2029 - 2040
Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (April 2024)
One for the classic Saint-Emilion limestone lovers out there, the 2023 Château Laroque is almost all Merlot (there's a splash of Cabernet Franc), and it has a pure, medium-bodied, incredibly elegant profile carrying vibrant raspberry and cassis-driven fruit, some violet and floral notes, remarkable freshness and vibrancy, fine tannins, and outstanding length. It's not massive, but it’s flawlessly balanced and just a beautiful wine in the vintage that readers will love to have in the cellars.
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (May 2024)
About this WINE
Château Laroque
Château Laroque is a large St. Emilion estate famous for its stunning 18th century château as well as for the quality of its wines. It is owned by the Beaumartin family and was granted Grand Cru Classé status in 1996.
Its 61 hectares of vineyards (27 of which are used for the Grand Vin) are situated in the commune of St. Christophe des Bardes and it produces nearly 25,000 cases a year. The blend is predominately Merlot based and the wine is aged in oak barrels for 12 months. In the best years it is packed with ripe and plummy fruit supported by a framework of supple tannins and balanced acidity.
St Émilion
St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank.
St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel.
Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol. Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.
In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices. The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.
St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
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Description
Blend: 99% Merlot; 1% Cabernet Franc.
There is a superb intensity to every element of this energetic and alluring wine. The property lies to the east of the appellation, on limestone, but in two manifestations. The first is pure Astéries, as on the Côtes by the town and the other with a clay topsoil over limestone like Troplong-Mondot. These combine for power and purity, and with David Suire’s guiding hand, there is nothing to excess. It starts with succulent blue fruits on the palate, becoming herbal and graphite tones and finishing with a flourish of crunchy freshness.
Drink 2028 - 2046
Our score: 17/20
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