Ripe fruit and toasted notes on the nose. Rich and fleshy, this has an initial bounce and lift with juicy acidity and chalky red berry fruit but also quite compact tannins that bring the power to the fore and stop the finish a little short. I love the precision and cool freshness on show but feels a bit tense and lean still. A touch sombre towards the finish, the opulence of the vintage shining through, with the dark fruit emerging alongside notes of bitter chocolate, tobacco, liquorice and aniseed. Full and glamourous but will be nice once the elements harmonise a little more.

Some sweet berries such as plums and cherries with hints of dried bark on both the nose and palate. Medium-bodied and attractive with fluidity as well as firm and silky tannins.

The 2022 Dassault has a composed and delineated bouquet that's much more refined and elegant than the wines I was tasting a decade ago. The palate is medium-bodied and nicely poised with pliant tannins and a keen thread of acidity. It has a pure fruit tone laced with pencil shavings toward the finish. This is an excellent Saint-Emilion that will age with style.

This shows the lush, warm fruit profile of the vintage, with blackberry and boysenberry notes gliding atop the subtle, graphite-tinged structure, along with black tea, ink and singed alder accents. Will have fans for sure. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.