Rouget 2017

Yum. Wonderful aromas of crushed berries, wet earth, sweet tobacco and fresh leather. Full body. Very tight, pinpointed palate with depth and length, too. The precision and balance is exceptional here. Try after 2023, but already a beauty.

The 2017 Rouget is very deep purple-black in color with a nose of preserved plums, blueberry compote and mocha with suggestions of wood smoke and beef drippings. Medium-bodied, quite firm and chewy in the mouth, it has just enough black fruit preserves flavors and a grippy finish.

This has depth and juiciness, making it an enjoyable, bright, if a little austere Pomerol. Tasted twice, and both times it showed well, with slightly backwards tannins that need time in the glass to unfurl. They use a touch of whole-cluster fermentation at Rouget, which may be adding to this early tightness, but there is a lovely freshness alongside a sense of juicy bramble fruits. A small section of the vineyard was affected by frost, meaning there is no second wine, Carillon de Rouget, this year. The rest of the grapes were brought in between 20-29 September, with harvesters going through each plot several times to pick the fruit when ripe.
Drinking Window 2024 - 2035

Black with purple rim. Very ripe damson aroma. But the tannins are thick and dry so the whole seems pretty tough. Chewy, uncompromising. May come round.
Drink 2023-2029

Mainly black plums the nose has sweet fruit the start of the palate fleshy. There is underlying freshness lighter at the back with sweet fruit coming through on the finish. 2024-35

Rather confected and juicy on the palate, there is a vegetal note here which is a little too off-putting and this is present on the nose and the palate but this is as a result of the whole bunch and it will relax into the wine somewhat. The oak is a little too raw at the moment and I hope that this softens, too.