2018 Château Lassègue

The 2018 Lassègue has a really gorgeous bouquet of luscious dark cherry fruit, cassis, crushed violets and vanilla pod. It becomes increasingly floral with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and sweet with supple tannins. Licorice and brown spices filter through the black fruit, leading to a satin-textured finish. Very seductive and quite heady, this is a Saint-Émilion that clearly has ambitions, though overall I find it just a little too sweet.

The 2018 Château Lassegue emerges from the home estate of Pierre Seillan, who's also behind the incredibly quality of Verite in Sonoma County. It's a beautifully seductive, seamless 2018 with a wonderful core of red and blue fruits, notes of leafy herbs and tobacco, nicely integrated tannins, a great mid-palate, and a rounded, mouth-filling texture. Beautifully done, enjoy this irresistible Saint-Emilion over the coming two decades.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Lassegue features expressive notes of stewed red and black plums, boysenberries and Black Forest cake, plus hints of damp soil, black truffles and tapenade. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers bags of black berry preserves flavors, supported by soft, approachable tannins and just enough freshness, finishing earthy.