2017 Reysson
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Tasting notes
The 2017 Reysson, a Cru Bourgeois within the Dourthe portfolio, has a high-toned, floral bouquet that needs a little more delineation. It is medium-bodied with light tannins, a fine bead of acidity, but overall lacks a bit of pizzazz and comes across a little staid on the finish. Not bad, just not a Cru Bourgeois that "sings".
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Mid crimson. Really perfumed. I am noticing the Petit Verdot a lot in this vintage – even a small percentage seems to add a floral quality, as here. The fruit is ripe and plummy in this unusually Merlot-dominant blend. Then dark and chewy on the palate, with oak spice rather than oak sweetness. A distinctive wine in this line up. Firm, dark and yet supple. Persistent too. (JH)
Unique in the Médoc as the only cru bourgeois that includes no Cabernet Sauvignon because their soils are clay-limestone, says Dourthe's director Frédéric Bonnaffous. They lost 8 ha out of 50 to frost (20 out of 124 acres). On their clay-limstone soils they found that Cabernet Sauvignon never ripened so they planted Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and mostly Merlot. 1.8 ha (4.4 acres) of Petit Verdot planted, with rootstocks suited to calcaire. 5 km west of St-Estèphe. This is a blend of 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Dark and perfumed on the nose. Ripe dark bramble fruit with a light floral note and a touch of sweet oak spice. Smooth and full of fruit, well balanced and juicy. Not terribly long but all in harmony. (JH)
Dark and perfumed on the nose. Ripe dark bramble fruit with a light floral note and a touch of sweet oak spice. Smooth and full of fruit, well balanced and juicy. Not terribly long but all in harmony. (JH)