Chateau Croix de Labrie 2023

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is very unique and spicy, with white pepper, salt, iodine and oyster shell. Blackberry and black licorice, too. Medium to full body with great freshness, but it’s very structured with fine and chewy tannins, before finishing fresh and energetic. Crunchy. 3.41 pH and 14.2% alcohol. 85% merlot, 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc. All biodynamically grown grapes. Better than 2022?"

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Croix de Labrie prances out of the glass with gregarious notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, and rose oil followed by hints of dark chocolate, anise, and cardamom. The medium to full-bodied palate is bright and fragrant, with beautiful tension and wonderfully fine-grained tannins, finishing long and minerally. This is impressive. The blend is 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, with pH 3.41."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Deeply colored, the wine is rich, with dark red, black, and blueberries made even better with the addition of flowers, spice, licorice, and chocolate. There is ample freshness on the palate, paired with silky tannins, and a zesty, spicy, dark berry finish that leaves you with a light touch of citrus on the backend. The wine is produced and bottled with extremely low levels of sulfur. You can enjoy this young, or age it for more complexity, The wine blends 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. This is the first vintage with this much Cabernet in the blend. 14.2% ABV. 3.4 pH. The yields were only 27 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2026-2050."

WEINWISSER: "Intensives Bouquet, frischer Schattenmorellensaft, Heidekraut, Lavendel und Heidelbeerdrops. Am komplexen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, engmaschigem Tanninkorsett, nerviger Rasse und geradlinigem straffen Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale rote Kirsche, tiefschürfende Mineralik und körnige Adstringenz. Aufgerundet."

VINUM: "Ungemein fruchtig, mit Schliff und Präzision, dicht gebaut, dabei tänzerisch leicht, sehr schöner Spannungsbogen, Frucht und Struktur in Harmonie; langer, frischer, rotfruchtiger Abgang. Dürfte in jeder Phase seines Lebens Spass machen."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2023 Château Croix De Labrie comes from 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, aging 80% in barrels (70% new) and the balance in foudre and demi-muids. It has a vivid purple hue as well as a pretty, perfumed bouquet of black raspberries, cassis, spring flowers, and subtle spicy oak. it's certainly a prettier, more elegant wine from this terrific family, with medium to full body, supple tannins, terrific balance, and outstanding length. It's going to shine with just a few years of bottle age and is very much in the more juicy, focused style of the vintage."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine Edelholznuancen, Vanille, etwas Nugat, reife Herzkirschen sind unterlegt, kandierte Orangenzesten. Saftig, elegant, frische Säurestruktur, zart nach Lakritze, reife Tannine, feiner Säurebogen, mineralisch-salzig im Abgang, ein eleganter Speisenbegleiter."

DECANTER: "There is freshness, refinement and tonicity to this wine, imbued with cool blue and ripe red berry fruit, coming from a five-hectare estate, that was recently promoted to Grand Cru Classé. With an excellent variety of soils - from limestone sand and clay to gravels with clay - the wine was crafted from grapes harvested from 20 September to 6 October. The tannins are smooth enough, but barrel ageing (70% new oak) will improve both their finesse and palate breadth, but I like the tonic, tangy and tasty aspect to the palate, with ripe fruit. The low pH of 3.41 is balanced by 14.2 alcohol. Potential for a higher score once bottled."