Château Villemaurine 2016

Black fruit and red cherry with lifted spice and cedar smoke on the nose. Raspberry coulis and loganberry with a salty, graphite, pencil-lead tang on the palate. Supple, rounded with grippy tannins and lingering freshness. Harmonious, the wine feels sophisticated and finessed.

This already has a very enticing nose of red and black berries with hints of smoke and licorice. A very elegant and beautifully balanced wine, in which the interplay of bright acidity, fine dry tannins and oyster-shell minerality is really fascinating. Very long, super bright finish. Drink or hold.

Tasted blind. Plush texture but a bit loose and lacking focus. Acidity dominates the tannin. Fruit-cake flavours and quite long. Just a little drying on the finish. (JR)

The 2016 Villemaurine is absolutely gorgeous. Powerful, ample and resonant, the 2016 is a beautifully intense, modern Saint-Émilion. Dark cherry, plum, mocha and licorice notes build into a crescendo of aromas, flavors and textures. Even with all of its natural intensity, the 2016 retains terrific freshness and energy. In 2016, Villemaurine is terrific. Hubert de Boüard consults. Tasted two times.

Lush, round, medium-bodied and packed with fresh, ripe red fruits, licorice, earth and mocha, the wine is forward, elegant and supple-textured, with a fruit-filled finish.

The 2016 Château Villemaurine is a charming, forward beauty that does well in the vintage. Giving up lots of black raspberry fruits, some spicy oak and graphite, medium to full body, and a rounded, plump, straight-up delicious style on the palate, it should continue drinking beautifully for over a decade. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, brought up in 80% new French oak.

Deep purplish garnet with ruby highlights. Airy red cherries and violets on the nose. On the palate, elegant and juicy with sweet extract, a very fine texture, and a finish of cooled fruit tea and raspberry pulp, like a piano sonata from Mozart’s pen! 17.5/

Kunz barrel sample 17: powerful, sweet, fruity bouquet with raspberries, cherries, vanilla powder. Balanced, creamy, sweet palate with intense fruit, dense, silky structure, good tannins, fresh aromatics, long, full finish.

Powerful, sweet, fruity bouquet with raspberries, cherries and vanilla powder. Balanced, creamy, sweet palate with intense fruit, dense, silky structure, good tannins, fresh aromatics and a long, full finish. 17/20 2024 - 2038

The 2016 Villemaurine has a deep garnet color. It wafts out of the glass with scents of fragrant roses and dusty earth, followed by a core of prunes and baked cherries and touches of garrigue and stewed tea. Full-bodied, the palate delivers impactful flavors of blackberry preserves, with a chewy texture and bright acidity, finishing long and spicy.

Classy and precise, the wine bounces off fruit with the drive of elite athletes born in 2016. The nose opens on very ripe blackberry notes, almost a touch too far. Amid juicy tannins, there are hints of cocoa and spices.

Nose of red fruits, elegant oak, small meadow notes, floral. Straight, long palate, tannins still a bit strict, great length, a saline touch on the finish.

Deep garnet red with purple highlights. Complex, inviting bouquet revealing notes of graphite, dark chocolate and black berries. An elegant, precise and creamy attack. The wine is rich, with perfectly integrated tannins that provide excellent structure across the entire palate. They are ideally supported by the acid framework, which brings freshness on the finish. A wine with a bright future.

The nose is fruity, elegant, indulgent, racy, structured and offers power as well as a lovely, finely granular grain. It reveals notes of crushed blackcurrant and, more lightly, blackberry, combined with small touches of violet and black berries, as well as discreet hints of lily, Cuben pepper and tonka bean/toasty notes. The palate is fruity, elegant, gourmet and offers a lovely tangy framework, precision, fine delicacy, a good guideline and good definition. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy blackberry, crushed blackcurrant and, more lightly, plum and crushed raspberry, combined with small touches of tonka bean/cocoa, toastiness and sweet spices, as well as very discreet hints of vanilla and an imperceptible touch of caramelization. The tannins are fine, straight and elegant. A very discreet hint of coffee appears on the finish. Good length.

Dark, intense, beautiful and vibrant color. An intense nose with fine, pure, creamy fruit and a hint of truffle. Delicate on entry, supple through the mid‑palate, taut in body to the point of a slightly austere persistence, yet the wine finishes rich and long with finely chalky flavors. A very distinctive profile and taste.