AJ | Dark black-red, just off opaque. Warm, fresh, creamy and with exotic spices and peels to lend allure to the plump, classically plummy fruits. A terrific 2021 nose. On the palate, this is very fresh and primary compared to the plump, languid Lalande profile: brisk, fresh fruits with plenty of acid-infused zest and edgy lift. But it's very clean, very pure, the fruit impeccably sorted, and those aromatic complexities promise some development ahead. Lovely food-friendly tannins, too. Drink Dates: 2027 - 2035. 88
SF | Intense saturnine colour; the chimes at midnight. A 'modern' nose of vanillin, ripe plum , cassis and gunpowder. just as M de Biuard intends. The fruit quality on the palate is enrobed, almost aggressively, by firm acidity and, of course, by the vanillin clasp of the expensive oak. The result is mixed, strurdy and rich for sure, but maybe also a little disjointed too. Interesting to have another look in three years. Drink Dates: 2027 - 2036. 88