Black cherries, loamy, damp earth, tobacco, and flowery incense notes all emerge from the 2022 Couvent Des Jacobins, a ripe, opulent, sexy 2022 that brings beautiful complexity and richness, a round, layered, seamless mouthfeel, and a great finish. It's a ripe, unctuous, yet still classic, complex beauty from this estate, as well as the finest vintage I've tasted from them. Based on 82% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot, drink bottles any time over the coming two decades.

The 2022 Couvent des Jacobins still has that "punchy" bouquet with powerful blackberry, boysenberry and espresso aromas joining the fray. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins that perhaps needs more precision to come through on the grippy finish. Give this time in bottle.

The 2023 Couvent des Jacobins has turned out very well. Evoking a pure, perfumed bouquet of dark berries, mulberries, iris and lilac mingled with menthol notes, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless with an enrobing texture from a fleshy core of fruit framed by velvety tannins. Concluding with long, penetrating and chalky dry extracts, it offers plenty of immediate charm, yet it also has the structure to age well. As readers may remember, this is a blend of 82% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.