2019 Villemaurine
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Offering up notes of spicy oak, chocolate, leafy herbs, and Hermitage-like burning ember nuances, the 2019 Château Villemaurine is medium to full-bodied, has terrific red, blue, and black fruits, building tannins, and a great finish. I like its overall balance, it has solid complexity even at this young age, and it’s unquestionably an outstanding Saint-Emilion. As with most 2019s, short-term cellaring (or a healthy decant) is the name of the game, and it's going to have at least two decades of longevity.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Fleshy and generous, the 2019 Villemaurine wafts from the glass with aromas of sweet berry fruit, warm spices and creamy new oak. It's medium to full-bodied, rich and polished, with a ripe core of fruit, lively acids and fine, powdery tannins, concluding with a vanillin-inflected finish.
The 2019 Villemaurine, which was the final vintage under Justin Onclin, has a well-defined, focused bouquet of red berry fruit, touches of sous-bois and that marine scent that I noticed from the barrel sample. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. There is a veneer of new oak that needs to be subsumed, but this has a lovely plushness and sensuality toward the finish. Needs time, but it will be worth the wait.
The 2019 Villemaurine is a good wine, but it also comes across as a bit light and lacking in center. Red fruit, kirsch, sweet oak and alcohol dominate, while the color is a bit advanced. I must confess that bottles I tasted were perplexing. Villemaurine was much more impressive en primeur. Tasted two times.
About the producer
This eight-hectare estate has changed hands several times in recent years and is now owned by the Lefévère family (who also own Sansonnet, Moulin du Cadet and Soutard-Cadet).