Chateau Croix de Labrie 2024

JAMES SUCKLING: "Very good depth. Perfumed aromas of berries, flowers, sweet blueberries, grapefruit and minerals. Very pretty, with reactive, fine-grained, chalky tannins. The texture and freshness are incredible, with lots of vibration. Medium-bodied with energy and juiciness. Quite long. 80% merlot, 10% cabernet sauvignon and 10% cabernet franc."

DECANTER: "Soft and silky, this is fun and fresh, so pure and crystalline with focussed red strawberry and raspberry fruit that has both a crunch and salty edge. High acidity gives the vibrancy but this also has a feeling of energy and tension. A great limestone effect in the glass with some enjoyable austerity. Straight and forward this runs in one line with a dollop of sweetness on the mid palate too - a clear sign of ripeness. Lovely and sapid on the finish, totally moreish. Organic and biodynamic. No chaptalisation. Ageing 80% barrels 225l, (70% new, 30% one wine), 20% large casks foudre and 500l Demi muids. 3.38pH. Owners Axelle and Pierre Courdurié."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Cassis, graphite, beautiful minerality, and liquid violets emerge from the vivid purple-hued 2024 Château Croix De Labrie. Medium to full-bodied, it has a pure, seamless mouthfeel, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. Another undeniable success here and a beautiful effort."

ANSON: "You can tell that these fruits are on the riper side of the vintage, blackberry and even cassis, harnessed by elongated tannins with grip and tension. 22hl/h yield, including old Cabernet Sauvignon up to 100 years old. Owners Axelle and Pierre Courdurié, 65% new oak across a mix of casks and 225l barrels. Harvest 25 September to 8 october, 3.38pH."

WEINWISSER: "intensives, kompottartiges Bouquet, Heidelbeerdrops, Veilchenparfüm, dunkles Edelholz und Lakritze. Am geradlinigen Gaumen mit weicher Textur, engmaschigem Tanninkorsett, edlem mineralischen Kern und trainiertem Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale Pflaumen und dunkle Mineralik. Ein wilder, aktuell unruhiger Kraftprotz, Potenzialwertung!"

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple colored. Needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to unlock scents of crushed blackberries, mulberries, and tar, leading to hints of black pepper, wild sage, and damp soil. The light to medium-bodied palate is elegant and plush with a lively line and satisfying savory layers on the finish."

VINUM: "Wie oft mit Tiefgang und Komplexität, dunkle Frucht, Schwarztee, Holunder, getrocknete Kräuter; dicht gebaut, zupackendes Tannin von höchster Güte, knackige Frucht, noch wild, mit sehr guter aromatischer Länge und mit einem rotfruchtige-würzigen Finale; hat sehr guten Anlagen, könnte mit dem Ausbau noch zulegen."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Nuancen von reifen Pflaumen, ein Hauch von Feigen, zartes Nougat, kandierte Orangenzesten sind unterlegt. Saftig, Extraktsüße, reife Brombeeren, frisch strukturiert, etwas fordernde Tannine, braucht noch seine Zeit."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Bright, juicy, and creamy on the medium-bodied palate, the wine is loaded with freshness, licorice, sweet, red cherries, and plums with a marine-influenced, salty note in the finish. 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 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. This is only the second vintage featuring this much Cabernet in the blend. 13.5% ABV. Drink from 2027-2044."