Château de Montfaucon Baron Louis Lirac 2018

There’s a touch of pepper and juniper here, it’s full-bodied, very savoury style. The tannins are just-ripe and it’s well balanced with a long finish – there’s tension and power here rather than concentration of fruit, and it will take a while to really reveal itself. This will be one of the longer-lasting Liracs of the vintage. A blend of Grenache Noir (50%), Cinsault (15%), Syrah (15%), Carignan (10%), Mourvèdre (10%). Hand-harvested, destemmed. 80% spends a year in one or two-year-old barriques. Then it all spends a year in concrete, followed by a further year in bottle. Drinking window: 2022-2028. Part of Best Value Southern Rhône 2018 – Top Buys. Score – 92. (Matt Walls, decanter.com, Nov. 23, 2019)