Chateau Croix de Labrie 2025

James Suckling: Blackberry, blueberry, licorice, iodine and ink aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with a focused and beautiful center palate. Hints of salt and terra cotta. Terrific presence in the finish. From organically grown grapes. 82% merlot, 11% cabernet franc and 7% cabernet sauvignon."

Vinum: Tiefdunkel und tiefgründig im Duft, kühl, mineralisch geprägt, reife Brombeeren, Veilchen, Schwarztee, Zartbitterschokolade, saftiger Gaumen, sehr gut strukturiert und fokussiert, markante Säure und top Tanninen harmonieren mit der satten Frucht, unglaublich knackig, von beeindruckender Länge und mit rotfruchtigem, sehr salzigen Finish, endet auf Lakritze und Sauerkirschen."

The Wine Cellar Insider: Dark in color, the perfume exudes espresso, chocolate, licorice, flowers, plums, and cherries. The palate is even better with its layers of lusciously textured red, with black fruits, creamy textures, and a vibrant, long, mineral-driven finish. The wine is produced and bottled with extremely low levels of sulfur to retain the purity of the fruit. You can enjoy this young, or age it for more complexity. The wine blends 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2029-2050."

Jeb Dunnuck: Cassis, assorted red and blue fruits, violets, and graphite all define the 2025 Château Croix De Labrie, the grand vin sourced from a mix of parcels at a very low yield of 25 hectoliters per hectare. Based on 82% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Cabernet Franc that's being raised 20 months in a combination of 225-liter barrels and the balance in 500-liter demi-muids and 12-hectoliter foudres, it brings another level of elegance and finesse over the Chapelle de Labrie. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's fresh and focused, with ripe, polished, yet building tannins and a great finish. It checks in at 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.4, and while it's going to benefit from bottle age, this is a beautiful Saint-Emilion in the making."

Jane Anson: Exceptionally impressive intensity, purity, velvety tannins that cradle fully ripe berry fruit, with clear sea spray salinity that is particularly marked in this vintage. 3.4 pH. Harvest September 15 to 20. 70% aged in barrel (with 70% new oak), plus the rest in large neutral oak casks. No added SO2. 25hl/h, 5.16ha estate. 7,500 vines per hectare."

Decanter: Ripe blackcurrants and sticky liquorice aromas, smells heady and intense yet floral too with violets and peony scents. Smooth and silky, this is sleek and controlled with lovely purity to the summer berry fruit - strawberry and cranberry - with powdery, chalky tannins that give this body and structure. Classy and polished, there’s something really captivating about this wine. Great energy and intensity while keeping lifted. Hands-off in the best way but still with undeniable power. Juicy and long with undeniable limestone aspects. Totally different blend compared to 2022 and 2023. Started harvest on 14th September on the plateau, 15-16th on the slopes, Cabernet Sauvignon on the 20th and Cabernet Franc on the 21st. 3.40pH. Two years ageing: 70% barrel (70% new oak, 30% one-year-old), 30% demi-muids and 12hl foudres. 100-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon added to the blend."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Croix de Labrie springs from the glass with vibrant notes of black cherry preserves and red currant jelly, followed by suggestions of cedar chest, mint tea, and iris. The medium- to full-bodied palate delivers taut, muscular black fruit with a firm, grainy texture and a refreshing line, finishing long and perfumed."