The 2021 Cantemerle opens in the glass with notes of cassis, dark berries, mint and baking chocolate. This is medium-bodied, with supple, powdery tannins, lively acids and a delicate core of fruit, concluding with a minty, somewhat herbaceous finish.

The 2021 Cantemerle is a very strong effort in a challenging year, offering up aromas of blackcurrants and plums mingled with hints of spice box, black truffle and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, it's supple and succulent, with a generous core of fruit and a saline finish. It's sure to number among the sleepers of the vintage. Ch?teau Cantemerle saw substantial investments in the 1980s and since then has cruised along very happily?until now, with a new winery and cellar about to enter the construction phase. There are 98 hectares under vine, some 68% of which are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, at a density of 8,500 vines per hectare. Occupying a crescent around the ch?teau, the vineyards sit on Mindel gravels, and the terroir is rather homogenous, such that any given parcel has the potential to make it into the grand vin (the second wine is mostly derived from young-vine parcels). Farming is thoughtful, with minimal chemicals and cover crops employed to limit vigor in parcels planted with Merlot. In the last few years, almost one kilometer of hedges has been added, to enhance biodiversity. The air-pulse system was prototyped here, so that's the order of the day during vinification, and ?levage employs moderate percentages of new oak.