Quite floral, this shows a wealth of very ripe plums and black cherries. The tannins are powerful with a thread of spicy cinnamon-infused oak. Rippling with power. Yet ever so refined and beautiful. Try around 2025.

The finest vintage I’ve tasted from this estate, the 2015 Château Sansonnet is a deep, full-bodied, opulent beauty with notes of chocolaty dark fruits, leafy herbs and lots of graphite. Possessing a wealth of fruit and sweet, yet building tannin, this thick, beautifully layered wine is an awesome effort that will keep for 15+ years. The lieu-dit Sansonnet lies just east of the village of Saint-Emilion and covers 6.96 hectares. It was purchased by Marie and Christophe Lefévère in 2009 and this 2015 is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, aged 16 months in 80% new oak.

A ripe, muscular, extracted style, with lots of warm fig, raspberry and blackberry confiture flavors wrestling with one another. Shows a brambly imprint on the fruit, and a grippy undertow of roasted apple wood adds to the heft. Features some cut, but this remains a touch shy on refinement in the end. Best from 2023 through 2035.

Big, ripe and packed with tannins, this is a dense wine. The concentration is palpable, rich with black plum and berry fruits. This powerful wine with its great tannins and fruit needs to age. Drink from 2025.

The 2015 Sansonnet is composed of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc aged for 16 months in French oak, 80% new. Deep garnet-purple with a nose of crushed blackberries, plum preserves and beef drippings with touches of sautéed herbs and tapenade, the full-bodied palate has loads of concentration and energy with a firm, velvety frame and long finish.