2021 Chateau d’Issan, Margaux, France (750ml)

WINEMAKER’S NOTES:

The 2021 Chteau d’Issan is a medium-bodied red wine from the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux, France, praised for its elegance and balance in the vintage. It is a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (65%) and Merlot (30%), with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, and has received high ratings from critics like James Suckling and Decanter. It displays aromas of red fruits, violets, and spices, and its tannins are described as ripe and powdery, suggesting it can be enjoyed now or aged.

TASTING NOTES:

With aromas of red currants, ripe cherries, flowers and hints of nutmeg and salt, this medium-bodied red has a solid core of fruit with medium and ripe tannins that nicely frame the wine and give depth and energy. Lightly chewy and caressing at the end. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 2% malbec and 1% petit verdot. Better to drink in two or three years, but best after 2027.

– James Suckling, 96 pts.

Mint and flowers on the nose with delicate fragrant black bramble fruit. Smooth and elegant, lifted with a lovely balanced acidity to this, not sharp – it’s all very calm and delicate but with texture ot the tannins, slightly grippy and softly chalky giving the frame and the definition. I feel they’ve treaded delicately here, not tried to overdo it, and it’s not as ample or fleshy as some in Margaux but what it doesn’t have in confrontation it has in finesse. Really easy to drink and easy to enjoy with gorgeous fragrance throughout, lovely raspberry and strawberry elements, and some black tea on the finish.

– Decanter, 94 pts.

The 2021 D’Issan offers up attractive aromas of wild berries, violets, fresh mint and pencil shavings, followed by a medium to full-bodied, polished and seamless palate that’s layered and suave, with a pretty core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins. This elegant, sensual wine will offer a broad drinking window.

– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 92 pts.

Redcurrants, red plums, smoked tobacco, and hints of iron, as well as some floral notes, all emerge from the 2021 Chteau D’Issan, a medium-bodied, pure, focused, elegant Margaux that shines in the vintage due to its balance and seamlessness. It’s already up-front and accessible today yet should have 15 years or more of prime drinking. The blend of the 2021 is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, raised in 50% new oak.

– Jeb Dunnuck, 92 pts.

The 2021 d’Issan was matured in 50% new oak and bottled in June. This displays admirable vivacity on the nose, mainly red-fruited, with clove, a touch of mocha and hints of pencil shavings surfacing with time in the glass–well-defined and “correct”. The palate is pliant on the entry with a slight creaminess to the texture. Showing red berry fruit, allspice and hints of cinnamon and white pepper, this exerts a gentle grip with quite a persistent aftertaste. Just a bit short and light on the finish, it doesn’t have the finesse of the 2019 or 2020, but it has plenty of character and will drink after six or seven years.

– Vinous, 90 pts.