2022 Château d'Issan

This is one hell of an Issan with blackberry, blackcurrant, and hazelnut aromas and flavors. Cherries. Cedar. Full and intense with tannins that are long and bright. Goes tight at the end, indicating greatness. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 2% malbec and 1% petit verdot. (2023)

The 2022 Château D'Issan ratchets up the quality, offering more purity, precision, and length. Revealing notes of darker currants and blue fruits, graphite, and chalky minerality, this medium to full-bodied red has beautiful freshness, and is focused, straight, and elegant. Just a beautiful barrel sample, it’s very impressive. (05/2023)

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot, with a yield of 30 hl/ha and aging in 50% new oak, d’Issan 2022 has a pH of 3.67 and a TPI of 72. It is deep garnet-purple in color and comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of crème de cassis, baked blackberries, and plum preserves, plus suggestions of tilled soil, clove oil, candied violets, and charcoal. The full-bodied palate has a firm structure of wonderfully ripe, fine-grained tannins and lovely tension supporting the dense, muscular black fruits, with a long finish and loads of floral and mineral sparks. Beautiful! (05/2023)