2018 Marsannay l'Ancestral
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Marsannay "L'Ancestrale," which had been racked a week earlier, contains 100% whole-bunch fruit. As I have come to expect from this cuvée, it has a really lovely bouquet, offering beautifully defined red plum and wild strawberry fruit and subtle sous-bois /autumn leaf notes in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Cohesive and quite fleshy relative to the prior vintage, with a welcome dash of white pepper on the prolonged finish. Superb.
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Three best parcels, vinified separately. Vines 60–80 years and 100% stems. Made since 2001. 25% new oak. Racked but put back into older barrels. Mid crimson, ripe, sweet and almost meaty, with very little sign of the stems on the nose though there is a dry tannic quality on the palate at the moment. Harder to taste than the Chapitre. Very dry, almost lean at the moment. Needs much more time. Hard to judge at this point in its evolution. Power and drive but no charm just yet. (JH)