CHÂTEAU CHARMAIL
2017 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Haut Médoc
Lovely smoky nose - some flint too. This continues on the palate where it is joined by some glossy sweet dark fruit. Mineral and green notes on the finish. This should offer guilt free enjoyment for the next decade. Rating: 88 L&S (Apr 2018)
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The 2017 Charmail feels rather disjointed on the nose and lacked real presence. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannin, dry and rather mean towards the finish. This will be for early drinking only. Drinking range: 2020 - 2024 Rating: 83-85 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Charmail gives black cherries and blackberries on the nose with wafts of potpourri and tapenade. The palate is medium-bodied, soft and juicy with appealing freshness and just a bit of chew on the finish. Rating: 85-87 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)
Black cherries, smoked herbs, and earthy notes all emerge from the 2017 Château Charmail, which is medium-bodied, fresh and lively, with bright acidity and moderate tannin. It's a clean, well-made Haut Médoc that will keep for 5-7 years. Tasted twice. Rating: 86-88 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)
Light and fresh with succulent tannins, some nice berry fruit and a pretty finish. A bit dilute now but may fill out during the elevage. Rating: 89-90 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)
A property located north of St Estèphe, just inland of Château Sociando-Mallet. In this vintage the assemblage is 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. It has a dark, smoky and somewhat herbaceous nose, with some flinty, matchsticky, sulphurous notes. The palate shows substance and texture, no doubt aided in this by a little cold pre-fermentation maceration. It is medium-bodied, but it seems muted and it expresses little in the way of fruit, showing just some slightly bitter tannins and acidity at the moment, the former coming to the fore on the finish. Overall, a rather muted showing. A difficult one to rate. Rating: 86-88 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)
Château Charmail
The name Charmail comes from its 16th century origins, when the Trevey de Charmail family settled in the Medoc. It's a property on classic Médoc gravel and clay, of about 27.5 hectares, sitting high up and overlooking the Gironde.
Olivier Sèze bought Charmail in 1982. A leader in many ways, both in viticulture and in winemaking, he developed a process of pre-fermentation cold maceration, still used here now, which produces deeper coloured, fatter wines with soft tannins and this, along with the relatively high proportion of Merlot for the Haut-Médoc (50%), gives wines that are ready to drink within 4 to 6 years of the vintage. It also seems to make Charmail a fairly good bet in lesser vintages. The grapes are all hand-harvested and the wine is aged in barrel for 12 months.
In 2008 Bernard d’Halluin bought Charmail, and it was agreed that Olivier should continue to work there and be part of the new team, in charge of the winemaking. Bernard's daughter Marie has taken charge of the presentation and marketing.