Saint Pierre 2010

The final blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot has resulted in a wine of great power, stature, gravitas and density. The wine has a black purple color and a brilliant nose of scorched earth, creme de cassis, espresso roast, blackberries, truffles and licorice. Full-bodied, extremely powerful, yet with abundant sweet tannin, this stunning effort should prove sensational if given 7-10 years of cellaring. It should also last for 30-40 years. This is another brilliant wine from Jean-Louis Triaud, who is also responsible for the brilliant resurrection of the cru bourgeois, Gloria. This is one of the smallest estates in St.-Julien, with only about 6,000 cases produced, and even less were produced in 2010 than in 2009.

A killer trilogy 2008, 2009 and 2010) has been produced by Saint-Pierre and the 2010 is unquestionably one of the all-time great wines this estate has yet made. A candidate for one of the top wines of this remarkable vintage, it offers a thunderball of fruit, extract, glycerin and intensity. Its black/purple color is accompanied by notes of melted licorice, camphor, blackberries, blueberries, creme de cassis and subtle background oak, amazing concentration, unbelievable opulence and intense, but sweet, well-integrated tannins. Moreover, because of lower pH’s and higher total acids across the board in 2010, and despite the high alcohols this wine’s alcohol content must be 14.5%), the overall impression is one of elegance, freshness and precision. This cuvee reminded me somewhat of a St.-Julien version of another of the superstars of the vintage, the 2010 Pichon Longueville Baron. The 2010 Saint-Pierre should drink well for 30-40 years.

The final blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot has resulted in a wine of great power, stature, gravitas and density. The wine has a black purple color and a brilliant nose of scorched earth, creme de cassis, espresso roast, blackberries, truffles and licorice. Full-bodied, extremely powerful, yet with abundant sweet tannin, this stunning effort should prove sensational if given 7-10 years of cellaring. It should also last for 30-40 years.

Deep plum colour, oyster shell salinity on the first nose, a classic signature of 2010 that is quickly followed up by bitter black chocolate and tight liquorice root. Great quality, just a stunning sleek damson and cassis-filled wine but these bristling tannins remain very much in control right now, and I suggest giving it a good few more years before the excellence is truly released. No question in my mind that it is going to storm into the top of St Julien when fully in its drinking window. 50% new oak, 44hl/h yield.

Good bright ruby. Knockout nose combines blackberry, cassis, minerals, espresso and nutty oak. Dense, sweet, plush and deep, with a texture of liquid velvet and subtle floral lift. This impeccably balanced and seamless wine actually shut down in the glass and showed a serious underlying structure. A great and eminently ageworthy vintage for this Saint-Julien estate, whose wines have been on fire in recent years.

Two bottles of the 2010 Saint-Pierre were poured, the first just slightly oxidised. The bouquet is comparatively light with blackberry and raspberry aromas, never really quite taking off from the glass like others. The palate is better, much better, with plenty of mineral-rich black fruit, a superb line of acidity and wonderful precision on the finish. I suspect that the fact that we could not decant the second substitute bottle contributed to the slightly subdued aromatics, but I think there is real class here. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

Deep purple-ruby. Reticent but nuanced nose hints at cassis, brown spices and smoky herbs. Lush and seamless in the mouth, with lovely precision if not palate-busting concentration to the red cherry, blackcurrant, cocoa and underbrush flavors. Really spreads out on the palate and vibrates on the long, aromatic aftertaste. A wine of sneaky concentration and depth, it's a bit more youthfully closed today than usual for Saint-Pierre at this stage, but it still has the typical drink-me-soon appeal of this chateau. I'd forget about it in the cellar for another six or eight years and drink it from 2018 through 2035. Should be an excellent value.

A blackberry and black currants with minerals and full body. Loads going. Juicy red.