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Talbot 2014

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

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Label

Tasting Notes

The smoky oak, full body and chunky tannins make a bold statement; indeed, the wine has plenty of flesh and packs a big tannic punch on the finish. Best Talbot in years. Drink in 2023.

94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2017

Tasted blind. Very dark and slightly evolved-looking. Dense and for the moment somewhat impenetrable but promising. Lots of life in there. Somewhat inky for the moment. But gorgeous.
Drink 2024-2044

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2018

Cut from the same cloth as the 2015, just more classic in style, the 2014 Château Talbot offers lots of black fruits, smoked herbs, graphite and a touch of lead pencil on the nose. This is followed by a classically styled, medium-bodied, dense, impressively concentrated 2014 that has another 10-15 years of prime drinking. This is always a well-made, classic Saint-Julien and readers can’t go wrong here. 2018 - 2033

90
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

This has melded together nicely already, with a core of gently steeped plum, blackberry and anise flavors intertwined with light licorice snap and roasted apple wood notes. Focused and solid, but with a charming supple edge. Best from 2020 through 2030. 26,283 cases made.

92
James Molesworth, WineSpectator.com, February 2017
93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2015
Read more tasting notes...

The 2014 Talbot felt reticent and tightly knit on the nose, so I placed my glass to one side and allowed it to aerate for 15-20 minutes. This paid dividends as it revealed blackcurrant, smoke and tobacco aromas, hints of boysenberry with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite structure and perhaps needing more flow. It feels a little rigid at the moment and I would want more persistence and depth on the finish. Let's see how this ages in bottle, because it certainly showed improvement between samples in October 2016 and February 2017. Drink Date 2020-2040

90+
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (Interim En), April 2017

The Château Talbot 2014 has a simple bouquet that is missing the sophistication and nuance that is a consistent in Saint Julien wines this year. Aerating the glass for 5 minutes does seem to evolve more delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannin. There is a nice line of acidity here, a little hardness towards the finish but an attractive spicy aftertaste that lingers in the mouth. I can envisage this to be a more austere Saint Julien but if it gains flesh during élevage it could be an interesting proposition. Drink: 2018 - 2035.

89/91+
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (218), April 2015

This is really powerful with excellent depth of fruit and richness. Spices, blueberries and lightly toasted oak now. But it shows really serious structure. Best Talbot in years, maybe decades.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2015

Dark purplish crimson. Sweet, almost bonbon nose. But a bit short of juice on the palate. Hard work and drying on the end. May come right eventually but for the moment it is much more obdurate than its neighbours.
Drink 2024-2032

16+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2015
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.