Château Dassault Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2024 en Primeur

Pretty red cherries and berries with a floral lift. This is juicy, medium- to full-bodied and solid in structure. The firm, medium-long finish has lovely fruit at the end.

The 2024 Dassault is a very strong effort, offering up aromas of sweet cherries, berries, plums and petals, followed by a medium-bodied, ample palate with good purity, depth and persistence. As readers may remember, there have been many changes at this address in the last couple of years: Thomas Duclos has come on board as consulting enologist, and the estate has acquired the vineyards of Petite Faurie de Souchard (not to be confused with nearby Petite Faurie de Soutard), which complements their existing clay terroirs with some of Saint-Émilion's limestone slopes.

Beautifully done, with a fresher yet nicely concentrated style, the 2024 Château Dassault offers ample darker berry fruits, integrated oak, crushed stone-like minerality, and violet-like nuances. Medium-bodied on the palate, it offers ripe tannins in a balanced, nicely focused style.

Violet and sweet-pea aromas with some sweet herbs and no obvious oak yet. Fresh and appealing. In the mouth there are sappy tannins and good acidity and enough fruit weight and density to offset. Should provide pleasant drinking in the short-to-mid term.