2014 St Pierre (St Julien)
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Tasting notes
The 2014 Saint-Pierre was splendid six years ago. However, this bottle left me and others scratching our heads, perplexed. It has a fresh and vibrant nose, mainly red berry fruit and pencil shavings mixed with cranberry and wild strawberry. So far, so good. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly tough tannins, a bit rustic for a Saint-Julien, and has a somewhat bitter and dry finish that comes as a nasty surprise. Maybe an errant bottle? Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Intense black fruit with a note of black olives adding savour. Very dark and concentrated on the palate. Intense but not particularly charming. Chewy tannins, plenty of freshness. Needs time. (JH)
This vintage always benefits in a vertical from coming after the 2013, but no question that this is a excellent wine with dark fleshy fruits and slate-textured tannins. Confident powerful, nuanced, rich, balanced. A signature St Julien vintage, with smoked cigar box from the opening notes, balanced but expands and rises from the mid palate onwards. 50% new oak.
The 2014 Saint-Pierre has the most fruit-driven bouquet of the flight of Saint Julien wines with copious red cherries, boysenberry and fig-like scents. It certainly is the one with the immediate appeal rather than intrinsic complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, quite solid tannin that provide good backbone to support the weight of fruit. There is a lot of extraction here but everything remains nicely proportioned and there is more than enough freshness towards the finish. This should not be under-estimated and it will provide long-term drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
About the producer
Henri Martin – the ex-cooper that created Ch. Gloria in the 1940s – purchased this Fourth Growth Saint-Julien estate in 1981. Today it is managed by Martin’s granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Vanessa and Jean Triaud.