2018 St-Julien Sneak Peak

Generally around this time, we’d be regaling you with stories from recent UGC of Bordeaux events, which are always an absolute highlight for Bordeaux enthusiasts. This annual traveling gathering of winemakers is truly the best way to get to know Bordeaux, short of moving there and knocking on every cellar door. Representatives from 80-100 different wineries attend, each showcasing their wines from the current-release vintage. It’s an opportunity to connect with the people behind the wines, while really getting to know the character of a vintage. This year, 2018 would have been on display for all us thirsty fans, but needless to say, things are different.

Generously, the UGC sent bottles from each region to us directly, and our Bordeaux crew has been busy at work tasting and sending us notes. The vintage is generally lauded as a very good one. Clyde called it a “velvet fist in an iron glove,” and you can read his overall impressions here. It started out wet and cold but was redeemed with a dry, sunny second half. The reds are quite good, and everyone has raved in particular about those from St-Julien.

I love St-Julien. It’s an appellation that consistently blends charm and power seamlessly. Jancis Robinson calls St-Julien, “one of the most homogeneous, reliable, and underrated village appellations in the Haut-Médoc district of Bordeaux,” and we can’t disagree. It’s a consistent source of excellent wines that don’t quite fetch the prices of some of its neighbors in Pauillac and Margaux. It is not home to any First Growths, but its Second Growths, such as the three Leoville properties, are excellent.

You can get to know the region by watching this great overview video by the UGC, then scroll down for K&L’s Team Bordeaux 2018 tasting notes and impressions.

Alex Schroeder, Bordeaux & Champagne Specialist

This week, our French wine experts took turns, one-by-one, tasting several of the wines from the prestigious commune of St-Julien, and, two years after the very promising en-primeur campaign, they did not disappoint! 

Beychevelle — 2018 was a warm, powerful vintage and the richness of Beycheville is the perfect evidence of that fact. On the nose a pure, seductive blackberry compôte is framed with nuances of mint and toast. The fruit seems restrained and pure on the attack, then the acidity settles on the back palate where an explosion of plum and blackberry fruit lingers for an impressive, long lasting finish. The tannins are remarkably fine at just a few years old.

Branaire Ducru — What a nose!  Chery, herbs, mint, strawberry, gravel, rose petals, and toast — it is hard to move past. The palate is equally expressive; the rich red fruit is center stage, artfully surrounded by toast, minerals, smoke, and herbs with very precise acidity and luxurious tannins that create the perfect texture. I understand why many are calling this the wine of the vintage.  

Gloria — One of the true values of St-Julien, Gloria exceeds expectations this vintage! Full of rich juicy blackberry fruit with minty herbs, licorice, and sweet baking spice, it has  fantastic structure from ripe tannins and lifting acidity.  This is poised to age beautifully.  

Langoa Barton — Langoa is the red-fruited cousin to the often brooding Leoville-Barton, but the richness of the vintage has put Langoa into a new league of quality for 2018. The nose reveals a generous bouquet of ripe bing cherries and cola berries, matched by well-integrated oak treatment and graphite. The rich fruit comes out on the palate, but doesn’t overpower the expressive highlights of tarragon, mint, toast, and minerals. It has lovely tannic structure without being coarse at all, even in its youth.   

Leoville Barton — Two years after claiming Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year prize, this wine should be up for it again! (Will they let you win twice in three years?) The nose is divinity— plums, blueberries, southern French herbs, hints of licorice, and toasted oak. On the palate, the rich blue and black fruit is aptly balanced with round, well-structured tannins and juicy acidity, and the finish is as long as it gets.  

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Clyde at Chateau Branaire Ducru in 2019. Picture by Alex Schroeder.

Clyde Beffa Jr., K&L Co-owner and Bordeaux Buyer

St-Julien is one of the star regions of 2018. These 5 wines were all superb.

Branaire Ducru — Red roses on the nose, excellent, elegant aromas with a bit more substance than Gloria. Sweet cherry flavors—so elegant on the palate you want to drink it now. Lingering finish with a touch of tannin at the back. Superb wine. Ralph had given it 3 stars in 2019. I agree. A must buy.

Gloria — When tasted en premier I said it was their best wine since their legendary 1966. Well, the tasting this week proves it to me. Such a sweet, fruity, expressive nose—red fruits abound with a touch of spice. On the palate, it is elegant and sweet till its long finish.  Plenty of acidity and very soft, round tannins. I agree with Ralph when, in 2019, he said that it was one of the best values in Bordeaux for the 2018 vintage. 

Langoa Barton — Black cherry cola aromas, which are typical for the property. Some Asian spice aromas underneath. Cola flavors and plenty of acidity for ageing. Lovely red berry flavors—tannins there but round.  Lovely wine with a long life ahead. As good as their 2010.

Léoville-Poyferré — Dark color. Intriguing aromas of Asian spice, clove, ginger. Big wine with tons of flavor, body, and richness. Super concentrated wine with a very long life ahead. Ralph had given it 3 stars in 2019.

Leoville Barton — Wow, this is right there with their amazing 2016. Red fruit aromas that are a bit restrained right now but open up with air. Lots of spicy fruit comes out after one hour open. A full-bodied, mouth-coating glass of red fruits. Long life ahead here. Tannins at the back but the balance here is perfect. A star—as usual.

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Ralph (left) and Clyde at a previous UGC event.

Ralph Sands, Senior Bordeaux Specialist

The wines showed very nicely. The fantastic diversity of this GREAT commune is also on full display here within these wines! Maybe, 8 minutes by car from the elegance of Braniaire to the power of Leoville; just amazing! The highlights for me were...

Branaire Ducru — This is classic Branaire! Perfect purity in its ripe, red-cherry type fruit, without a hint of under- or over-ripeness! Fantastic freshness. Great taste and the epitome of elegance all on full display here, and I love it!

Gloria — Effusively fresh and loaded with sweet berry fruits. Fresh, balanced, elegant, and delicious! Wow what a value in Fine Wine!

Gruaud Larose — Deep, rich wine with lots of old-vine berry fruit characteristics, with hints of earth and leather. Silky tannins, with creamy texture. Everything is in perfect balance. Hard to believe but this wine is delicious now!

Leoville Barton — The LB calling card is always the intense perfume of sleek black fruits that are so tasty and attractive! Strong wine with great freshness. Lovely, ripe mid-palate fruit, which, in my opinion, is a very important element in this vintage. No question one of the greatest wines of the vintage; while not quite at the level of 2016. 

Léoville-Poyferré — In our April 2019 evaluation of this 2018 vintage, outside of the First Growths, I thought LP could very well be THE wine of the vintage. On second tasting, it did not disappoint, but as you can read in our notes from our team, it has a lot of competition! LP is a big, bold wine, loaded with ripe red black fruit that comes at you in layers. Full of polished tannins and complexity that should develop beautifully in the cellar. 

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Gary Westby, Champagne Buyer and Bordeaux Enthusiast

Beychevelle — This ripe, dark-fruited St-Julien is for the hedonistic Cabernet lover. I found plenty of black fruit confiture and a rich soft finish in this big wine. It is composed of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petite Verdot.

Branaire Ducru — This beguiling wine was the surprise stand out of our 2018 St-Julien tasting. It has a showy, pure, intense nose of top quality cassis. In the mouth it is remarkably graceful despite its concentration and power. Everything is in the right place! I love the excellent lift and acidity on the super long finish. What a wine! It is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc.  

Gloria — This broad, rich Gloria is full of soft dark fruit. The ripe Cabernet does not go over the top into over-ripeness, but instead shows off the black fruit character of St. Julien in a ripe year. It is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petite Verdot.

Gruaud Larose — This clean, elegant, and perfectly balanced St-Julien has plenty of cassis fruit but also the wonderful grace notes that make for top Bordeaux. These wines age like few others, and even weaker vintages (of which this is not one!) keep for generations. It is composed of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petite Verdot.

Lagrange — The clean gravelly earth and tense, dark cassis fruit nose of this St. Julien impressed me very much. This is incredibly pure Bordeaux, with richer fruit than usual from this property, but more importantly with incredible precision and freshness. This has a long, lifted finish that promises a very long future. It is composed of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 5% Petite Verdot.

Langoa Barton — This wine was one of the most impressive of the 2018 St-Juliens that we tasted. I was very impressed by the graceful combination of subtle cola and tense cassis on the classy nose. The round, red plum fruit in the mouth was very attractive, as was the soft, rich finish. It is composed of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc.  

Leoville Barton —  What a wine! Absolute purity of dark cassis flavors, framed by deftly applied oak on the nose and a great silky texture and feeling of concentration in the mouth. This is a great wine, with fantastic lift and acidity and a finish that won't quit. It is composed of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. 

Léoville-Poyferré — This dark, powerful wine is full of impressive ripe, nearly confiture-like black fruit. It is by far the richest of the 2018 St-Juliens that we tasted and a wine for the hedonistic Cabernet lover. It is composed of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Petite Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc.

Saint-Pierre — What a big Bordeaux! This rich, cakey, cassis-laden St-Julien is Californian in scale. But the finish is all Bordeaux class, with a stony, clean finish that has a nice grace note in it. It is composed of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. 

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