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Tour Saint Christophe 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

From the same owner as Enclos Tourmaline, and the ex-winemaker at La Violette and Le Gay, comes Tour St Christophe a St Emilion located between Troplong Mondot and Tertre Roteboeuf. The 20 hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. The 2018 yield is 37 hl/ha and the wine is being aged in 40% new oak.

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Label

Tasting Notes

Currant, red-tea, chili, chocolate and lemon-zest aromas. Chalk and crushed gravel, too. It’s medium-bodied with tight, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Sleek and tight with crunchy berry, mineral and zesty notes on the finish. Complex. Pretty center palate to this. Extremely polished. Try from 2025.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2021

The 2018 Tour Saint Christophe is a lovely Saint-Émilion. It has retained the floral aspect that I remarked on in barrel, iris and peony infusing the black fruit, but now displays a more conspicuous marine element. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, wonderful definition and perfectly judged acidity. Quite classic in style and reassuringly sophisticated, this is a wonderful Tour Saint Christophe that oozes class. 2024 - 2045

94
Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2021

In 2012, Hong Kong-based Peter Kwok purchased this vineyard located in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes. The average age of vines is 30 years old. The wine is aging in 40% new oak barrels, 40% one-year-old and 20% two-year-old barrels and is expected to run 18 months. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with fruit from the Cassevert lieu-dit, and the wine has 14.6% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, the 2018 Tour Saint-Christophe bursts out of the glass with wonderfully pure blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry scents with an undercurrent of plum preserves, star anise and cinnamon stick with wafts of charcuterie and dried herbs. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with vibrant, juicy black fruits with a ripe, rounded tannin texture and fantastic freshness, finishing savory.

92/94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019

Deep ruby colour, with rich, ripe and juicy cherries, frangipane and sweet vanilla. The palate is ripe and exuberant, bursting with fleshy black fruits that are tamed by waves of fresh acidity. Chalky and rich through the mid-palate, this is a plush and modern wine, but one with good restraint and vibrancy. Long and spicy on the finish.

92
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

This tiny, picturesque vineyard on the east side of Saint-Émilion has turned out another brilliant wine with their 2018 Château Tour Saint Christophe. The vineyard covers 6.5 hectares of terraced slopes sitting just across from Château Barde-Haut and consists of old vine Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The 2018 is a tentative blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, harvested from September 25 through October 15, that hit 14.6% alcohol and is aging in 40% new French oak, with the balance in second- and third-fill barrels. Its deep purple color is followed by a medium to full-bodied, ripe, brilliantly concentrated Saint-Émilion that has terrific purity of fruit, classic minerality and graphite characteristics, good acidity, and building tannins. In short, it’s a classic wine from this cooler terroir that’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for two decades. It well worth a multiple case purchase!

93/95+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019

(80 Merlot, 20 Cabernet Franc) | 40% new oak & 40% barrel fermented | 14.7% alc | 37 hl/ha | 70000 bottles produced | Harvested between 25th September to 15th October Another wine with immense potential and the colour is the deepest purple and the fruit is bold and ripe. The limestone soils here bring amazing tension to the finish and while the tannins are relatively discreet it is the limestone and the freshness on the finish which makes this wine so successful. There is a huge volume of fruit here and the balance is spot on. It will be approachable from an early age, but it will also age extremely well.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

The 2018 Tour Saint Christophe has a delineated and focused, almost clinical bouquet with pretty red cherry and blueberry fruit intermixed with peony and iris flower. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, good acidity and poise with really quite superb tension and energy on the finish. This could have been pushed in the winery - it’s not - it’s succinctly judged and really utterly delicious. So silky that it will probably drink early, but I would advise cellaring for five years if possible. 2024 - 2045

92/94
Neal Martin, vinous.com, November 2019

Blueberry and blackberry character with hints of white pepper and chalk. Salty, too. Full-bodied, tight and polished with fantastic texture and length. Very closed and tight with gorgeous tannin quality.

96/97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019
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.