Fleuron de Liot St-Estèphe 2018

St. Estephe is the northernmost of the four communes that make up the heart of the Haut Medoc on Bordeaux’s Left Bank. Its soils have more clay than those of Pauillac to the south, which makes for particularly full-bodied wines with long lives.

Fleuron de Liot is tiny — the wine comes from a plot of just one and a half acres. It’s equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The 2018 is dominated by dark cabernet fruit that persists on the palate, with notes of cedar. Surprisingly pleasant at this very early moment, it will show its personality better a few years down the road.