2018 Grand-Pontet (St-Emilion)

Rich, velvety and sweet but certainly welcoming and approachable, the raspberry and blackberry fruits here have a ripe, juicy texture. It does a good job of standing out in the lineup. An enjoyable wine that`s hard to argue with. Good stuff from Sylvie Pourquet-Bécot. Drink 2026 - 2040. 91 points

Dark crimson with bright cherry rim. Very ripe on the nose, almost jammy. That ripeness has made it rather flat on the palate, the tannins thick and a bit tough. Not sure if this is a good sample. Did they just pick too late? Second sample very similar. 15 points

The 2018 Grand-Pontet has a deep purple-black color and begins a bit cedary with underlying mulberries, warm plums and cherry preserves plus wafts of dusty soil, garrigue and dried herbs. Full-bodied and laden with earth-sparked black fruit, it has a chewy frame and finishes a little firm. 89-91 points

The 2018 Grand-Pontet is powerful, deep and also quite extracted, not to mention very beautiful in this style. There is good attack on the fruit and plenty of structure as well as personality. Readers should expect a potent, explosive Saint-Émilion. Raspberry jam, mocha, espresso and sweet tobacco build in this very pretty and expressive Saint-Émilion. Tasted two times. 89-92 points

A rather heady nose, of cherry liqueur and plums steeped in kirsch, but with a lovely fragrance to it as well, all rose petals and peonies. The palate is bright, sweetly ripe, with a creamed, porty, crushed cherry substance underpinned by a very svelte and ripe bed of tannins, along with a forcefully fresh acid backbone. This is very modern in style, with lots of scented kirsch and obvious chocolate notes to it, albeit wrapped within a rather more elegant and sinewy substance, and supported by a nicely judged bed of tannin. 91-93 points