Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve | “All of the vines on the plateau were frosted—almost half of the harvest. We made 20 hectoliters per hectare on average.” For the first time, the wine is 100 percent Merlot. There is great depth on the nose, with notes of blackcurrant and iris. A dense palate of silky tannins offers one of the most accomplished structures of the entire vintage, which is also the property’s first fully organic one. | 95

Michael Schuster | Very ripe nose; full, rich, tannic, and with a vital acidity—fairly structured; rich and sweet, round and powerful, ripe, fleshy wine with a hint of bitterness and warmth on the finish, good length, but just a touch bitter-burly, at least to my taste. You do sense the missing finesse and fragrance of the Cabernet Franc this year. There is no problem, though, with its generous presence, and as long as the tannins don’t harden in the bottle, this is still likely to provide ample drinking pleasure relatively early on. 2025–37. | 91–92