Château Maucaillou 2017

The 2017 Maucaillou is deep garnet-purple colored with oaky, earthy, vague plum and cassis notes with an herbal undercurrent. The palate offers a good amount of cedar- and spice-laced black fruit with a plush texture and a woody finish.

The oak is a touch dominant, although its cedary caress to the fruit is enjoyable, as are the soft chocolate notes. This is certainly carefully extracted, presenting a seductive contemporary feel. This estate has handled the frost impact cleverly, producing a wine that is good for early to medium drinking.

Notes of spicy oak and dark earth here. This has a succulent, fresh feel with dark berries and plums and gently chewy tannins to close. Drink now.

The 2017 Maucaillou has a more fruit-driven bouquet than its peers, with bold red cherry and raspberry aromas and a hint of camphor lingering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied, with sour cherry on entry. There is something quite saline about this Moulis, but it just lacks some cohesion and feels a little disjointed on the finish. Maybe it will come together over the next few months. I hope so.

Forward, medium-bodied, early-drinking pleasure is found here, with a nice, fresh, juicy red fruit character.

Kunz barrel sample 18: sweet, slender, light bouquet, red berries, fine hint of pepper. Silky, light palate with sweet fruit, delicate structure, light aromatics, bitter finish.

Sweet, slender, light bouquet, red berries, fine hint of pepper. Silky, light palate with sweet fruit, delicate structure, subtle aromatics, bitter finish. 16/20 2022 - 2032

Supple, fresh and fruity wine, slightly vegetal, sapid and tense.

Medium garnet red. Beautifully intense Maucaillou bouquet with freshness, fruit, and spices. Juicy, fruity character on the palate. The body is slightly creamy, gourmand, and endowed with well-integrated tannins that provide the wine’s backbone alongside its structure. An inviting, well-balanced Maucaillou with a fruity finish.

The nose is fruity, with a touch of power and fine intensity. It reveals notes of wild blackberry, ripe wild strawberry and, more delicately, blackcurrant, combined with subtle hints of violet, ripe raspberry, refined minerality, as well as a subtle touch of sweet spices, nutmeg and a very discreet hint of vanilla. The palate is fruity, balanced, and offers tension, minerality, and a supple texture. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy blackberry, juicy/fleshy raspberry and, more subtly, wild strawberry, along with fine touches of violet, crisp blackcurrant, and a subtle hint of sweet spices. The tannins are precise, well-handled, and structuring.