Château Petit-Village 2018

Black cherry, clove, cedar and dried earth on the nose. Some vanilla and licorice. It's medium-bodied with firm, chewy tannins. Some wet earth. Polished and layered, with wonderful freshness, too. Very tight now. Better from 2025.

Superb bouquet, very inviting, with an excellent ability to create harmony between freshness and maturity. Lots of finesse on the palate. Precise tannins, with fine grains, which give a certain fullness and which are in phase with the lively side of the acid structure. Along the palate, the tannins gradually slow down to reach their fullness at the end of the palate. In the end they display power, but in a subtle way. Refreshing tension on the finish. Fruity and persistent finish. 2024-2038.

Flamboyant is my first impression of Petit-Village 2018. Compared with the latest hot vintages, this wine has a more Mediterranean personality; it features lavish black crushed fruits, distinct rosemary, and fragrant violet. The palate is brimming with roundness and creaminess, ornamented with graphite notes and iron powder-like tannins. Among the lingering and complex finish, I can feel a sense of unspeakable mystery; it seems it has many stories to share with me, but not at once. If you want to know its whole story, you should have enough patience.

This is a bigger vintage than some years at Petit-Village, with an excellent balance and an impressive swagger, giving notes of pencil lead and liquorice through the mid palate that give it a fairly Left Bank feel. There is clear concentration here with raspberry fruits that have an attractive floral edge and an abundance of silky and plump tannins. They are HVE3 but not organic and had a yield still lower than usual at 23hl/ha due to mildew and difficult fruit set which meant extremely careful sorting was required. 40% new oak was used. Winemaker Dania Berrouet-Garcia. -Jane Anson.