2018 Château Capbern

Tasted blind. Mild and well-balanced nose and rather rustic tannins on the palate. Grainy, alcoholic finish. (JR)

The 2018 Capbern was a wine where I expressed reservations in terms of a soupçon of sur-maturité and the alcohol level when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, well, I still have those reservations. That is not to imply that it is a bad wine – far from it. There is a generous lift on the nose of blackberry, touches of blueberry and light violet aromas, and the palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannins and plenty of graphite-infused black fruit. Yet I find the finish a bit wearing and rather monolithic vis-à-vis other vintages tasted. It feels like a bit of a blunt instrument and I much prefer the Marquis de Calon this year.