Talbot 2021 (750ML)

93 VM / 93 DE / 92-93 JS / 92 JD / 92 WS / 92 JA / 91-92+ WA

The 2021 Talbot is an absolutely gorgeous wine. Aromatic, layered and impeccably balanced, Talbot is simply exquisite in 2021. Sweet pipe tobacco, incense, dried flowers, mint, licorice and blue-toned fruits are some of the notes that grace this super-refined Saint-Julien. All the elements are so well balanced. The floral, effusive finish is so inviting. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Spearmint and blackcurrants on the nose with some gorgeous perfume too. Excellent intensity of blackcurrant juice, not fleshy, more linear and direct, the lightness of flavour balancing with fine, just gripping tannins that also offer touches of tobacco and toasted spice flavours. It's overall quite a delicate and well worked wine for the vintage, with gentle fruit persistence and a lifted finish. Will no doubt round out over ageing, giving more density to the really beautifully presented floral-touched bramble fruit. Elegance and class; promising indeed. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

A fruity and attractive 2021 with currant and berry aromas and flavors. Hints of citrus. Medium body. Fresh finish. - James Suckling

The 2021 Château Talbot is based on 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. It has lots to love and brings more density and depth than most in the vintage. Ripe red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, spicy oak, and a touch of chocolaty earth all emerge on the nose, and it's medium-bodied, with a rock-solid mid-palate, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's impressive and well worth seeking out and buying, as you can drink bottle today or in 15+ years with no issues.-Jeb Dunnuck

Offers a solid core of crushed plum and black currant fruit, underscored by savory and tobacco accents and a light sanguine edge. Possesses just enough flesh to stave off the vintage's grainy side as a late iron note echoes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2035. 22,000 cases made, 1,900 cases imported. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

This feels old school in the best way, a nod to the classic vintages of the past, with concentration and structure, powerful but savoury and sculpted cassis and blackberry fruits, curls of bitter black chocolate and spice. Great quality. 44hl/h yield, and a natural 12% alcohol, really leaning into the vintage, successfully so. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

The 2021 Talbot is promising, exhibiting aromas of wild berries, cherries, cigar wrapper and sweet spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety palate that's bright and seamless, with an enveloping, charming profile despite analytically rather high levels of polyphenols. This is a fine effort that reminds Jean-Michel Laporte of the 2001 vintage in style—though the 2021 will benefit from all the improvements that the last two decades have witnessed at this address. Tasted four times. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate