Château la Confession 2022 en Primeur

Blackberries, black olives and dark chocolate with some volcanic salt undertones. Medium body. Juicy and chewy. A blend of 70% merlot, 27% cabernet franc and 3% malbec.

Juicy and pure, tannins make the mark almost straight away but they are fine with real bite and precision, nice intensity and drive. Lovely energy and sleekness, I like the salty chewy but firm tannins, they give nice support to the blackcurrant and cherry fruit with a lifted fresh finish. Energetic, sculpted, serious and fun! So much easy drinking pleasure to be had here, still with grip and focus.

Proprietor Jean-Philippe Janoueix has brought in consultant Thomas Duclos to initiate a stylistic shift in the direction of less oak and extraction, and the 2022 La Confession is the first vintage to see the effects of this new approach. Offering up aromas of dark berries, cherries, licorice and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and supple, with a lively core of fruit and a saline, perfumed finish.