2010 Château Le Crock, Cru Bourgeois St-Estèphe

Here's a Saint-Estèphe that's sheer sensual pleasure and from one of this (and last) centurys great, great vintages. One that's now in optimum drinking mode, offering complexity and intrigue to both nose and palate, where cabernet sauvignon and merlot form a dark fruit-laden core to which cabernet franc and petit verdot are added for herbaceous charm and red fruit freshness. A whisp of warming toast and spice from 18-months resting in small French oak barrels frames the experience perfectly.