Château Corbin - Grand Cru Classé 2018

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

A Corbin that rises to power, with satin and energy in the tannin and a finish of great distinction, marked by very Pomerol-like floral nuances.

About the domain :

Anabelle Cruse-Bardinet, from one of Bordeaux's great wine families, now has a firm grip on her 13-hectare Corbin terroir, where she produces wines typical of the area, closer in texture to Pomerol than to the Saint-Emilions of the Côte. Added to this is a particular finesse born of a better mastery of ageing, due from the 2016 vintage onwards, to the new vatting house. Remarkable value for money.

Decanter

About the wine:

Obvious coffee roast suggesting well-handled oak, this has balance and definition, with notes of slate and ripe blueberry, clean tannic hold and a fresh, seductive finish. Elegant but concentrated, serious in purpose but with brilliance. Drink between 2024 and 2040.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

For the first time, Ch. Corbin's 2018 combines cement vat and new barrel ageing to give the fruit more room, and it's a perfect match! Indeed, the fruit explodes right from the nose, notably blackcurrant and redcurrant. This fruit is echoed with equal intensity on the ample, warm, seductive palate, hemmed in by beautiful, silky, coated tannins. A wine with character and a promising future.

About the domain :

Both from old Bordeaux families, Anabelle Cruse-Bardinet, supported by her husband Sébastien, took over the family vineyard in 1999, acquired by her great-grandparents in 1924 and handed down by the women for 4 generations. An ancient cru (the foundations of the main building date back to the 15th century), it is said to have been one of the strongholds of the Black Prince ("corbin" for the raven color of his armor). The vineyard covers 13 ha, planted partly on ancient sands, partly on clay.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The beautiful construction of the 2018 Grand Cru, with tannins shaped by the terroir and by new, gentler extraction practices - under the effect of vinification in a reducing medium - preserves the fruit of the start on sharp tannins. Half the vintage is aged in new oak, which still leaves a hint of youthful larder, while the other half is aged in vats. The subtle balances suggest a fine evolution.

About the domain :

For the twenty years she's been at Corbin, Anabelle Cruse-Bardinet has been replanting the family's 13-hectare vineyard at the heart of the former Seigneurie Corbin, on lightly-structured sandy gravel and blue clay soils. This method of vineyard management enables most of the young plots to make great wine. Living on the estate with her children, she looks after the ecosystem. Her vat room, refurbished four years ago, assembles eighteen small concrete vats for twenty parcels. Since then, both the grand vin and the second wine have gained in precision, culminating in the 2019 punctum, a grand demonstration of finesse and balance. With the help of a new cellar master, Annabelle, an oenologist herself, is freeing herself from Jean-Philippe Faure's advice to follow her instincts, and proving with brio that she knows how.

James Suckling

Jeb Dunnuck

About the wine:

From the northwest of Saint-Emilion, not far from the border with Pomerol, Château Corbin 2018 is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, which has been aged in 50% new French oak barrels. This very good Saint-Emilion has a fragrant nose of black raspberries, blackberries, roasted spices, dried flowers and silty earth. Much more refined and elegant now in bottle than in cask, it is medium to full-bodied. medium- to full-bodied, with classic Saint-Emilion chalky minerality, quality tannins tannins and a fine finish. It's well worth seeking out, and while it already offers pleasure, with just 3-4 years in the cellar, it will enjoy 10-15 years of cellaring potential.