WINEMAKER NOTES:
Blend: 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec
The Barrel Sample for this wine is above 14% ABV.
TASTING NOTES:
This has aromas of blackberries, toasted bark, pine cones and spice box. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tight tannins. Some citrus peel on the structured and chewy finish. Better after 2024.
– James Suckling, 92 pts.
This estate continues to make outstanding wines, and their 2019 Château Rol Valentin sports a deep ruby/plum color to go with beautiful notes of red plums, darker cherries, Asian spices, graphite, and dried herbs. Medium-bodied on the palate, it’s beautifully balanced, has good mid-palate density, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Beautifully done, it should have 15+ years of prime drinking. Best After 2022.
– Jeb Dunnuck, 92 pts.
From holdings situated on iron-rich clay soils next to Valandraud and supplemented by Malbec from a parcel near Figeac, the 2019 Rol Valentin offers up generous aromas of cassis, berry preserves, loamy soil, spices and espresso roast. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish, it’s a lively, youthfully firm wine in a more muscular, extracted style. Best After 2023 Rating: 90+
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 90 pts.