Château Sansonnet: Tasting & Drinking
The wines of Château Sansonnet are dark, substantial, robust and modern, and have certainly found favour in some quarters, with some critics. And there is certainly a house style in evidence here, the character of the wines mirrored by those produced at the other Lefévère property, Château Moulin du Cadet.
I find the wines to be admirable within that style, presenting an undoubtedly brooding character, the aromatics and palate laden with toasted black cherry fruit. This much offers some enticement, although I have on occasion found some signs that the wines are a little over-worked, with slightly fuzzy, smudged fruit profiles, the tannins which sit behind this shop window sometimes looking rather bold and puckering.
These are definitely wines for modernists, rather than traditionalists. Even so, I couldn’t help admiring the style of the 2015 vintage, full of plump fruit but also a refreshing lift of acidity. The 2017 was also a good result for the vintage, the vineyard’s position high up on the plateau offering surefire protection from the frost that struck this year. If the big and broad St Emilion style is your thing, then these are good wines to consider, provided the price suits your pocket. (24/1/19)
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