2022 Chateau Ferriere - 3eme Cru Classe Margaux

Decanter.com – 95 pts – GH: *Gorgeous fragrance of roses and milk chocolate, expressive, alive and inviting. Round and supple, generous flavours of blackcurrant, black cherry and strawberry. Compete and well textured, tannins are super fine and so well integrated, just giving a touch of grip and support to the fruit and high acidity. Well controlled, gentle, confident but not showy at all with a lovely energy and push from start to finish. Lovely texture and juiciness, pretty and so still with structure. Doesn’t have so much concentration and overt power but really delivers a gorgeous, sculpted, precise, refined glass of wine with so much energy and dynamism. Excellent, stony mineral finish too and such a long length. You could drink this today. 1% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 75-80% grand vin production. 3.64pH. A yield of 24hl/ha. Ageing: 18 months, 35% in new oak barrels, 35% in barrels of one wine.* - 04/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 95 pts – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine schwarze Waldbeeren, Herzkirschen, ein Hauch von Brombeeren und Lakritze, zart nach Tabak und Orangenzesten, einladendes Bukett. Stoffig, feiner Cassis, straff, frischer Säurebogen, sehr lebendig, rotbeerige Nuancen, Kirschen im Abgang, salziger Nachhall, zeigt gute Länge, dezente Süße im Rückgeschmack.* - 01/2023

Vinum Magazin – 18/20 pts: *Gleicht stilmässig den letzten Jahren, das heisst, besitzt Konzentration, Kraft, Dichte, Tiefe und Länge sowie besondere Saftigkeit; muss aber unbedingt genügend lange reifen, um seine sprichwörtliche Eleganz zu entwickeln.* - 04/2023

WeinWisser – 18,5/20pts – GL, TW: *67 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 27 % Merlot, 5 % Petit Verdot, 1 % Cabernet Franc, pH 3.64, 13.7 Vol.-%, 24 hl/ha. Herrliches Parfüm nach reifen Schattenmorellen, frischem tasmanischem Bergpfeffer, erkaltetem Waldfrüchtetee und getrockneten Fliederblüten. Am komplexen, gut strukturierten Gaumen mit cremiger Textur, engmaschigem Tanninkorsett und durchtrainiertem Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale eine Explosion von blauen Beeren, dunkler Graphit und erhabene Adstringenz. Das ist einer der besten Ferrière, den ich je Primeur verkosten durfte. Bravo Claire Villars!* – 04/2023

JancisRobinson.com – 16,5/20pts – JL: *67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc. 24 hl/ha. Cask sample. Lively and expressive with bundles of energy. Smooth attack but firmly structured so will need some time. Quite intense. Chalky fresh finish.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (90-92) pts – AG: *The 2022 Ferrière is deep, inky and quite potent, but at the same time there is some aggressiveness, especially in the tannins. Some of that starts to dissipate with aeration, but the 2022 remains a bit forbidding in feel. I am cautiously optimistic, mostly based on how strong recent vintages have been, but the 2022 is not an easy wine to taste at this stage. This sample is 70% amphora and 30% new oak prepared for the en primeur tastings, but the finished wine is expected to be composed of lots aged in new oak (40%), once-used oak (40%) and amphora/concrete (20%).* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (92-94) pts – NM: *The 2022 Ferrière was cropped at 24hL/ha between 12 and 23 September with 13.7% alcohol. Aged in 35% new oak, 35% one-year-old, 20% concrete and 10% amphorae, this has an expressive bouquet with black cherries, cassis and crushed violet scents that explode from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with great depth, smoothness and gentle grip. This is fairly plush, keeping with the style of the vintage, and has a persistent finish. This represents one of the best wines from Ferrière that I have tasted in a bloomin' long time.* - 04/2023