Chateau Malescasse, Cru Bourgeois Haut-Medoc, 2015

Tasting Notes:

Ruby red in colour, Malescasse offers an intense nose of blackcurrant, blackberry and raspberry, with great maturity. Subtle undertones of roasted mocha give it great elegance and added complexity. The palate, with its perfect balance of alcohol and acidity, is not heavy or aggressive in the mouth. An intense attack builds over a tight, silky tannic structure leading to a long, dense, aromatic finish. The whole is elegant but powerful. Enjoy it with grilled beef or leg of lamb.

• 92 James Suckling
  Ripe dark plum fruits and baking spices in a cedary frame with background leafy complexity. This leads to a quite plush palate that delivers sinewy tannin with cassis and blackberry flavours to close. Try from 2020.
• 92 Wine Enthusiast
  This estate, based in the Gironde port village of Lamarque, has produced a richly textured, chocolate and bitter-cocoa-flavoured wine. That is only a problem at the moment, because ripe black-currant fruits are developing under the structure to give density, concentration and a serious wine as it ages. Drink from 2021.
• 90 Jeb Dunnock
  One of the most successful Cru Bourgeois I was able to taste is the 2015 Château Malescasse which comes from an estate located between Margaux and Saint-Julien. A rough blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, this beauty boasts a deep ruby/purple colour as well as loads of ripe dark fruits, chocolate, bay leaf and exotic spices. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, with ripe tannin and the upfront, sexy charm of the 2015 vintage, give bottles a couple years in the cellar and enjoy through 2027.
• 90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Tasted at the Cru Bourgeois annual tasting, the 2015 Malescasse felt broody and saturnine on the nose, mulch-like aromas percolating through the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, quite austere in style and old-fashioned but it pulls it off well. Don’t approach if you want bags of fruit, but personally I adore the pencil shaving finish and its old school sensibility. Tasted September 2017.
• Chateau Malescasse was built in 1824 on the highest land in the commune of Lamarque. In 1870 it belonged to the Renouille family; during the nineteen twenties it was purchased by the Dugoujon-Verat de Montagne family. The chateau changed hands a number of times before Raymond Philippe, a Paris stockbroker, sold it in 1970 to an American group. It passed into ownership of the Tesseron family in 1979. This family subsequently sold the property on to Alcatel Alsthom.The vineyard surrounding the chateau is situated on one of the best gravelly hilltops to be found between Margaux and St Julien Beychevelle, near the river, which makes it an exceptional quality growing area with deep, well drained soil. All the necessary elements are there: climate tempered by the proximity of the river, a noble "terroir", proven technical input and, most important, the respect and savoir-faire of the men who work under Georges Pauli. Without the necessary intimacy between man and nature, it is impossible to make a great wine.