Issan 2018

Name: Issan 2018
Brand: Fine Wine Cellar
SKU: fv_104832018-BT6
Price: 322.0 GBP
Availability: InStock

£322.00 - £322.00

£322.00

£322.00 - £322.00

£322.00

Bottle price:: £53.66
Country:: France
Region:: Bordeaux
Sub-region:: Margaux
Vintage:: 2018
Grape:: Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot
ABV:: 14.0%
Score:: 92, Neal Martin

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Only 1 case left!

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Tasting notes

The 2018 Château d’Issan offers fragrant blackberry, cedar and light peppermint scents on a nose that gently unfolds with aeration. This is charming and precise. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and fine intensity. A dusting of dark chocolate appears toward the finish, which needs some time to fully cohere; cellar it for 4–6 years. A very capable Margaux that should develop well in bottle. Drink 2024-2045.

Aromas of blackberry, plum, cocoa, iodine, clove and graphite. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, silky tannins. Tightly wound and mineral at the moment, with dusty gravel and graphite notes, yet with focus and precision. Such balance and harmony for the vintage. Try from 2025.

The 2018 D'Issan is composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, aging in 50% new and 50% second year barrels for an estimated 18 months. With 13.97% alcohol and a deep garnet-purple color, it features baked berries, warm cherries and cassis with spice box and fragrant earth plus tea hints. Medium to full-bodied, it has a great core of muscular fruit with firm, fine-grained tannins, with nice freshness, finishing layered with mineral notions.

This is a vibrant ruby colour, with floral aromatics that are even more evident on the nose here than with the second wine, Blason. This is not always the case during En Primeur tastings, when it's the second wines that tend to be a little more open, but it's a feature of the 2018 vintage. This is a brilliant Issan with richness and poise joined by a delicate acidity that pulls the fruit along. The tannins are deceptive, as they are supple and appealing, but the density and power builds over the palate and clearly indicates long ageing. A wine that feels like it's rooted in its appellation. 50% new oak. 40hl/ha yield, with 53% of production going into this wine, higher than in both 2017 and 2016. Eric Boissenot consults.Drinking Window 2027 - 2042

Tasted blind. Fairly pale crimson. Low-key, discreet, fresh nose. Not that complex but there is energy and zest here. 14%Drink 2026 – 2043

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot. 50% new barrels. Barrel sample. Deep core and cherry rim, not quite as black-hearted as most Bordeaux 2018s. Intense ripe cassis that is pure Cabernet. Nicely savoury too. Chewy and quite oaky on the palate, the tannins thickened by the oak but very smooth. Dense and still fresh. Very good. (JH) 13.97%Drink 2025-2035

I was only able to taste the 2018 Château d'Issan once, but it showed beautifully, with a full-bodied, plump, sexy style as well as classic notes of cassis, fresh plums, licorice, and high-class cigar tobacco. Based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot that will see 18 months in 50% new oak, from a scant 53% selection of the total production, it’s a brilliant, incredibly sexy Margaux that’s already hard to resist, yet will keep for 2-3 decades.

A richly proportioned d’Issan which is a few shades darker than I might have expected and the fruit is, accordingly, rather powerful and dry on the finish. The tannins are also quite fierce, but they do not damage the flow of the fruit and so I am happy to recommend this wine. Please make sure that you give it at least a decade to mellow.

The 2018 d’Issan was picked September 24 to October 11 and matured in 50% new oak. The fragrant bouquet offers blackberry and bilberry fruit, smoke and pressed rose petals, fine definition and well-integrated wood. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and fine acidity. This has very good structure considering how flamboyant and rich Margaux can be; it is stricter and more classic in style, with a slightly drier finish than some others. Stylish, and displays very good length. Drink 2024-2045.

The cashmere texture of the tannins is wonderful in this. They are ripe and precise. Dense at the same time, giving a slow drive and a long finish. Full-bodied with dark and pretty fruit. Persistent finish.

Issan 2018

Tasting notes

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