The 2021 Malescot St. Exupery has turned out nicely in its fleshy, flamboyant style, bursting with aromas of dark berries, cherries and creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, with supple tannins and a lively core of fruit, it's a strong effort.

The 2021 Malescot St. Exupery is a terrific effort, offering up aromas of sweet cassis and plums mingled with notions of licorice, espresso roast and toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's impressively layered, with a sweet core of fruit, ripe tannins and lively acids. The dramatic style of the ch?teau has worked very well with the cooler, later-maturing vintage. The blend is 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. This rather small, family-owned estate amounts to just over 28 hectares of vines. At the time of the 1855 classification, Malescot St. Exupery was much larger, but over the years, various proprietors sold off parcels, leaving the estate's holdings mostly concentrated on the plateau. Maturation is relatively unusual, in that the wines aren't racked and see b?tonnage of the lees, and they're bottled without either fining or filtration. Since around 2000, when Jean Luc Zuger's investments and changes started to make an impact, Malescot's style became rather rich and fleshy, standing out as one of the more dramatic, demonstrative wines in the appellation. In 2021, the Malescot team picked between 30 September and 5 October before stopping to wait for more complete maturity, despite the unfavorable weather forecast, recommencing between October 12th and 20th.