Good news arrives from Bordeaux, even in a difficult year for wine: the excellent scores for JCP Maltus's wines, Château Teyssier and Le Dome, warm our hearts...
The start of a new year brings high hopes, with its promises, resolutions and goals. As anyone in the wine world knows, the new year also brings “good news” in the form of ratings from the “super-critics" around the globe, who work tirelessly between cellar visits, tastings and, above all, En Primeur assessments of the new vintages.
In our view, these ratings take on real value when it comes to Bordeaux: we believe that the Bordeaux region deserves credit for being the first to invent and use scoring systems to classify sub-zones and wines – so we consider it respectful of the very idea of terroir to take such ratings into account.
February therefore saw the release of the new scores for the current Bordeaux vintage – the 2018 – confirming two outstanding scores for one of our most beloved Saint-Émilion producers, JCP Maltus.
Château Teyssier: James Suckling's verdict
Château Teyssier is the wine that bears the name of Sir Jonathan Maltus's estate headquarters, founded in 1994 in Saint-Émilion, on the Right Bank of Bordeaux.
The wine, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. After skilful work in the cellar, it is aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, 25% of them new.
A wine of character, energy and depth: a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru that never ceases to amaze and reveals its ageing potential with every sip.
With the 2018 vintage, Château Teyssier was awarded 94/100 by James Suckling.
Le Dôme: Decanter's rating
In addition to Château Teyssier, the estate owns several plots in Saint-Émilion, applying the "single-vineyard vinification" approach so well known in Burgundy.
One of the wines born this way, which has stirred the hearts of enthusiasts as well as critics, is Le Dôme, made from a small plot adjoining the vineyards of Château Angelus! This land yields a concentrate of power and longevity made from 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot – a very high proportion of Cabernet Franc compared with the usual blends of this part of Bordeaux's Right Bank. An incredible wine which, before release, is aged for 24 months exclusively in new French oak barriques.
Following the success of several vintages, including the legendary 2010 and 2016 – the latter awarded the coveted 100/100 by Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast – the 2018 has received another resounding endorsement from Decanter, with a stellar 97/100!
Le Dôme: Decanter's rating
Wine Terroir Srls is the exclusive importer and official Italian distributor of the wines of JCP Maltus.
For further information, write to us at info@wineterroir.it
