Château Cantemerle 2024

Critic scores

• James Suckling93-94
• Vinous90-92

The 2024 vintage in Haut-Médoc

Vintage benchmark: 87/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A rainy spring and a difficult flowering reduced the crop; the dry October saved fine, light, easy-drinking wines.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Haut-Médoc. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

"Even if it is only present at 7%, the Cabernet franc impacts the bouquet with its varietal nuances, respectively notes of iris. The latter accompany scents of Sichuan pepper and strawberries as well as a touch of fresh wood. On the palate, the notes of ageing appear in the attack. The wine has vigor and freshness, which it owes to its tannins and its refreshing structure. The finish, slightly angular, will become rounder over the coming months. A sapid and juicy wine." -Yves Beck

Blend of the 2024 vintage

Figures from the 2024 sheet

• 40 yrsVine age
• 400,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Wood, stainless steel and cement tanks

Ageing

12 months in French oak barrels, 40% of which are new

Terroir

The soil at Cantemerle is siliceous gravel. This gravel, the product of the ancient erosion of the Pyrenees by the Garonne, is one of the essential elements of a quality terroir. It makes for poor soils, and the vine must struggle if it is to produce concentrated grapes. These soils of sand and pebbles are also very free-draining and play an active part in ripening the grapes, since they reflect the sun's rays and retain at night the heat accumulated during the day. As they age, the vines send their roots deeper into the soil and express more fully the typicity of the terroir that carries them.