Château de Sales 2025

Perfumed floral flowers and strawberries, some Cabernet elements, mint, blackcurrant leaf, tobacco and cola. Ripe and plump but so cool. Lovely elegance and freshness – it’s finely detailed with softly grainy tannins giving a salty, chalky grip on the palate. I love the cool blueberry elements – long, structured but not firm, not muscular, more svelte and sinewy. A really accomplished style with everything you want. Maybe lacking in complexity for the moment but there’s no faulting the finesse and drinkability of this. 3.65pH. Ageing 15% new, 70% barrels of one year and 15% cement tanks. Harvest 5-17 September. Marie-Laure Latorre (agricultural engineer and oenologist) was appointed general director in September 2025 arriving from Château Jean Faure in St-Émilion where she handled technical, commercial and large-scale restructuring projects. Drinking window: 2033-2035. (Georgina Hindle,decanter.com)