WINEMAKER\’S NOTES: Chteau de Sales, the first wine of the estate, embodies the complexity and refinement of its terroir. A wine to be aged, it is made from rigorously selected grapes with a majority of Merlot. Chteau de Sales is matured for 12 months in oak barrels, 15-20% of which are renewed each year. The wines are bottled at the Chteau about 18 months after the harvest. TASTING NOTES: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 De Sales rocks up with expressive blackberries and black cherries notes with an undercurrent of tilled soil, truffles and mossy bark. Medium to full-bodied, it has a solid structure of ripe, rounded tannins and impressive freshness, finishing with bright black fruit layers. – Robert Parker\’s Wine Advocate, 93 pts. A soft, juicy red with a creamy texture to the tannins. Berry, cherry, light cedar and almond flavors. Pretty and balanced. Try after 2024. – James Suckling, 92 pts. Technical director Vincent Montigaud has managed this vintage well, making an accessible Sales that has fairly full-on tannins at this early stage, with traces of bitterness through the finish, but met step for step by blueberry and cassis fruits. Drinking Window 2023 – 2036 – Decanter, 91 pts.