2018 Château Talbot, St Julien, Bordeaux

66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Special dark coloured, engraved, centenary bottle to mark the 100 years of Cordier ownership.

Deep purple-black hue. Big and rich with a crème de cassis nuance. Plenty of mid-palate volume and gras. Big tannic frame so powerful in style. More modern in concept than the other vintages. Clearly for long cellaring.

Drink 2028 - 2048

Deep garnet-purple in colour, the 2018 Talbot features notions of baked blackcurrants, stewed plums, and bouquet garni with hints of tilled soil, tobacco leaf, and pencil lead. The medium-bodied palate is softly textured with bags of juicy black fruits supported by chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing savoury.

Drink 2023 - 2038

Not only is the 2018 Talbot the first vintage in which Jean-Michel Laporte was fully in charge, but it comes in a uniquely designed bottle to celebrate the centennial of ownership by the Cordier family. Fortunately, its contents make the grade. This Talbot is well-defined and focused on the nose, offering blackberry, bilberry and cedar scents and an attractive floral component that becomes more evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and cohesive, with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity and good depth. Layers of blackberry and cranberry fruit intertwine with cedar and touches of graphite on the finish, completing an excellent Talbot that may improve further with bottle age.

Drink 2023 - 2045

Released in an all-black bottle celebrating 100 years in the Cordier family, the 2018 Château Talbot is a beautiful, classic Saint-Julien that leads with its pure cassis and currant fruit, as well as notes of tobacco leaf, violets, chocolate, damp earth, and new leather. These all carry a medium to full-bodied, elegant 2018 with remarkable purity of fruit, a lively spine of acidity, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It doesn't have quite the level of concentration I thought from barrel, but it's nevertheless a beautiful wine that shines for its finesse and purity, and if it picks up weight in bottle, it will certainly merit an even higher rating. Give bottles 3-5 years and enjoy over the following 15-20+.

Drink 2024 - 2044

The 2018 Talbot is quite the powerhouse. Inky and deep, the 2018 possesses striking textural richness from start to finish. Inky dark fruit, licorice, cloves, new leather, menthol, violet and chocolate fill out the layers effortlessly in this decidedly flashy Saint-Julien. This is a terrific effort for Technical Director Jean-Michel Laporte in his first vintage at Talbot. It will be interesting to see where the château goes in future years. This is certainly an opulent, rich style.

Drink 2028 - 2048

Vibrant plum colour, warm and welcoming aromatics, cloves and turmeric spice, this stretches out through the palate, showing a luscious, satiny texture that reflects the warmth of the vintage and the slightly higher alcohols than usual rare at Talbot, that tends to show lower alcohols than its neighbours, like Lafite in Pauillac). Black chocolate, espresso, fennel, cassis, and gunsmoke are generous but a little atypical. Special anniversary bottle to celebrate 100 years under the Bignon-Cordier family. 60% new oak for ageing as of this vintage, and Jean-Michel Laporte's first as director.

Drink 2024 - 2044

Rich aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, chocolate, tobacco and liquorice. Oyster shell, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, well-integrated tannins. It has polished, silky layers with a long finish. Gorgeous, ripe, and bright fruit in the centre palate. Best in a long time.

Try from 2025