Château Grand Corbin 2018

Pure, clean nose; fruity attack, classically built, spicy, tannins with freshness, medium length, balanced, with discreet bitter notes; truly tasty, well-crafted.

Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, the 2018 Grand Corbin delivers notes of baked black plums, Morello cherries and boysenberries with wafts of wild mushrooms, underbrush and Sichuan pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate offers a good concentration of straightforward black fruits with a pleasantly chewy texture and just enough freshness, finishing savory.

A muscular style, with a slightly extracted feel to the mix of plum, blackberry and black currant compote flavors, wrapped in a thick coating of singed cedar and apple wood. A savory streak helps add some contrast and energy to the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2026. 11,600 cases made, 600 cases imported.

A little tight and austere right now. You certainly get the Cabernet Sauvignon influence even with such a small amount—there are powerful tannins holding things together alongside dark fruits and coffee bean character. The tannins are starting to soften and elongate after ageing, and there is plenty of potential for this to improve further. Hubert de Boüard is the consultant; 40% new oak.

Ripe blackcurrants, blueberries, bark, toasted hazelnuts and dark spices on the nose. Dried lavender and chocolate, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins and a creamy texture. Concentrated and polished. Try from 2023.

Tasted blind. Quite evolved at the rim. Very evolved on the nose, with a cocoa character. Sweet, with a slight charry note. Fruit dominates the tannin in this wine. (JR)

Deep in color, with a soft, polished, plush texture on the palate that provides a nice canvas to enjoy the sweet plums and cherries. This will be easy to enjoy on release and over the next 12 years or so. Drink from 2023–2036.

Dark ruby, deep colour core, violet tints, subtle bright rim. Fresh dark cherry fruit, inviting plums, a hint of orange zest, delicate herbal savouriness. Medium complexity, fine nougat, ripe cherries, discreet acidity, full-bodied and long, a powerful food match.

The Merlot-dominated 2018 Château Grand Corbin (there's 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon) offers a pretty, perfumed, incredibly floral bouquet with raspberry and blueberry fruit characteristics as well as scorched earth, chalky minerality, and cedary herb. Medium-bodied, elegant, and silky on the palate, it's not a blockbuster, but it has a delicate, seamless, and again, incredibly floral style that's a joy to drink. It will benefit from just short-term bottle age and keep for 10-15 years or so. It should be a terrific value.

Light, sweet, floral bouquet with red cherries, currants, caramel, vanilla. Light, slender palate with sweet fruit, fine sandy tannins, sweet aromatics, light finish. 16/20 2023 - 2034

The 2018 Grand Corbin is deep garnet-purple in color. It gallops out with baked black cherries, boysenberries, and blackberries, plus wafts of cedar, cinnamon toast, and potpourri. Full-bodied, rich, and firm, with tightly wound, grainy tannins and great intensity, it has a long and energetic finish.

A decadent bouquet of flowers, black pepper, and a hint of green bell pepper. The attack on the palate is seductive, with rich, highly concentrated substance that carries into a warm, sumptuous wave.

Harmonious bouquet of good intensity, with refreshing notes of red berries. A slightly creamy attack on the palate, where the wine confirms the olfactory harmony. It is balanced and endowed with good tannins. It still struggles to reveal its full aromatic expression on the palate, but the fruity notes on the finish promise good prospects.

The nose is fruity with a touch of concentration, a fine grain, as well as subtle power and precision. It reveals notes of small black berries, blackberry, Sichuan pepper, with hints of crushed blackcurrant, delicate touches of crushed strawberry, and small accents of spice, nutmeg, and a discreet saline note. The palate is fresh, mineral, and balanced, offering fine tension, a slight roundness, energy, a mineral backbone, and juiciness. On the palate, this wine shows notes of juicy/fresh blackcurrant, crunchy/juicy small black berries, and, more subtly, crunchy raspberry, joined by hints of violet, iris, camphor, tonka bean, and a subtle touch of fresh tobacco, fresh nutmeg, toastiness, and a very discreet hint of pepper on the finish. The tannins are well handled. A subtle hint of cocoa bitterness lingers on the finish.

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases)

Powerful fruits and tannins show densely in this concentrated wine. It is all about structured black fruits that are still young and vibrant with freshness among the ripe flavors. The wine needs to smooth out, so wait until 2024.