Château Laroque 2021

The 2021 vintage in Saint-Émilion

Vintage benchmark: 85/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: Frost followed by a cool summer brought back classic wines, lighter and more taut, to be drunk in their youth.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Saint-Émilion. 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

"Spiced red cherries, plums, graphite, cocoa powder and a touch of mineral. Medium-bodied palate with fine, silky tannins and a juicy, nuanced finish. Elegant and polished. Drink now but can hold, too." - James Suckling

The vintage

Manual harvest. Merlots on 1 October, from 4 to 9, and on 11, 12 and 15 October, Cabernets Franc on 15 October. Yield of 41 hl/ha; 45% of the grapes and juices selected for the grand vin.

Blend of the 2021 vintage

Figures from the 2021 sheet

• 13.5 % vol.Alcohol
• 41 hl/haYield

Winemaking

Whole-berry vatting by gravity. Plot-by-plot vinification in small concrete vats. Gentle mixed extraction by punching down and pumping over. Protective macerations aimed at more flesh and salinity.

Ageing

Reductive ageing on fine lees, partly in barrels and partly in oak foudres.

1st racking after 4 to 6 months of ageing. 2nd racking one year later, before bottling.

Terroir

On the edge of the rocky plateau, overlooking the hillsides that undulate in the great Saint-Laurent combe, LA-ROQUE sets the tone. The vines are rooted throughout the three types of limestone emblematic of the appellation: plateaux of blond clay (to the west) and red clay (Agenais molasse, to the east) over asteriated limestone, terraces to the east and slopes to the west on fine creamy-white clay (Fronsadais molasse). This variety of soils and relief gives the vineyard its unique character.