2023 de Ferrand (St-Emilion)

One of the St Emilion classifieds that is always worth checking in with, benefitting from increasingly impressive winemaking and consistency. Delivers the spiced intensity of the fruits of the vintage combined with floral aromatics, pumice stone, bitter chocolate, mint leaf and slate. Axel Marchal consultant. 93 points

The 2023 Château de Ferrand has a succinct bouquet, understated at first pour, but it opens nicely in the glass with wild strawberry, raspberry and light floral scents. A subtle estuarine element lurks underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit and fine grip, granular in texture with a twist of sour cherry on the finish that just needs a little more persistence. I feel this should gain a bit more corpulence during its barrel-aging. 90-92 points