2015 Rol Valentin (St-Emilion)

The 2015 Château Rol Valentin has a rich and opulent bouquet with plush blueberry and crème de cassis fruit, violets tucked just behind. The palate is full-bodied with dense but not jammy black fruit, quite structured with a dash of spice towards the powerful finish. It feels feisty and feral at the moment, but I suspect this will gain more finesse and cohesion once in bottle. 90-92 points

Rich, dark extract on the ripe and plush palate. Plentiful tannins provide an impressive structure. Firm, tight finish. 88 points

The 2015 Rol Valentin is dense, powerful and unctuous, with fabulous richness and overall intensity. Raspberry jam, rose petal, cinnamon, mint and white pepper are fused together in a rich, totally seamless St.-Émilion with modern contours and fabulous overall balance. This late-ripening site in the Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse sector often yields distinctive wines. That is very much the case here. The 2015 is not a shy or subtle wine, but it is very nicely done in this style. Julien Lavenu is the consulting winemaker. Tasted three times. 90-93 points

Rich, plush and deeply coloured, this is a ripe, concentrated style with supporting tannins, lots of aromatic oak and plum and bramble fruit. There’s enough power to cope with the 75% new oak. Drink: 2020-28. 91 points

Baked fruit which isn’t quite in keeping with the pure and fresh style of most 2015s. Impeccably polished palate with quite a firm grip on the finish and plenty of gutsy concentration through to the finish. The nose deserves the benefit of the doubt – there’s a lot of quality here. 16.5 points