2022 Verdignan

The 2022 Verdignan offers a lively bouquet of blackberry and briar, as hints of pencil box and smoke emerge over time. The medium-bodied palate opens with marine influences, giving way to seaweed-inflected black fruit with fine grip on the finish. It needs a couple of years to shed its edges, but this is very promising.

Opens strongly with black brambled fruits, undergrowth, burnt toast, coffee bean, soft and unfussy but struggles to maintain momentum. Eric Boissenot consultant.

The depth of colour in these wines is really pretty remarkable. This starts off slowly but surely, a good approach in this kind of vintage, allowing the dark berry fruits to match the tannins through the palate. Edges of tar and cloves show that even with this careful approach you can't escape the character of the vintage, but there is appealing velvety texture, and sweet blackberry puree on the finish. A standout vintage at the property, look out for it.