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LES ASTÉRIES

2019 Grand Cru Saint Emilion

Grapes Cab Franc, Merlot
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Saint Emilion & Satellites
Village Saint Emilion
Classification Grand Cru
ABV 13.5%

A powerful, explosive wine, the 2019 Les Astéries offers up a compelling interplay of dense, plush fruit intermingled with chalky, mineral notes that act as a counterpoint. Chocolate, spice and savory accents add further layers of complexity. The 2019 has come along splendidly since I tasted it as a barrel sample. It's breadth, energy and vibrancy simply can't be denied. Drinking range: 2026 - 2039 Rating: 95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)


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Or, check the RELATED PRODUCTS below for different vintages or wines of a similar style.


The 2019 Les Astéries is the one cuvée from Jonathan Maltus that has closed down a little, though it will open up with bottle age. The harmonious palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, pliant and focused, displaying a touch of black pepper toward the finish and quite a persistent aftertaste. Give this three or four years in bottle. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)

A single vineyard wine on limestone dominant soils from the Jonathan Maltus range. Opens with powerful blackberry and cherry fruits and a lovely curl of smoke. Has grip, with chalky tannins, and a mouthwatering finish. 80% new oak for malo and ageing. 3.62pH. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)

Another killer barrel sample from this team is the 2019 Les Asteries, which offers a sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, toasty oak, crushed stone, white flowers, and tobacco. One of the more focused, mineral-laced, and backward in the lineup, this full-bodied, concentrated 2019 is going to need 4-6 years of bottle age to show at its best. Rating: 95-97+ Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Jun 2020)

Les Astéries

Jonathan Maltus was the first Englishman to receive 100 points from Robert Parker for one of his wines. He arrived in Bordeaux in 1994, selling his project management company in order to buy the picturesque but otherwise unremarkable Château Teyssier. Hard work and serious investment established Château Teyssier as a remarkably successful St Emilion brand, but the sandy soils of Vignonet were never going to provide the terroir for true St Emilion greatness. So, Jonathan set out to find himself some good terroir.

First of all, in 1996, he purchased a 3.5ha plot from Vieux Château Mazerat when one of the two brothers who owned the estate died. This he christened Le Dôme. The plot sits next to Château Angélus on almost Pomerol-esque ground – sandy soil over a layer of crasse de fer (a rich iron oxide). The vines, planted in 1956 and 1970, are 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, making Le Dôme the most Cabernet Franc dominant wine in St Emilion. In 1996, Le Dôme was at the forefront of the garagiste movement and went into exclusively new oak, although latterly the new oak proportion has dropped back to 80%.

In 2004 Jonathan took on a 1.2ha plot that had been part of Château Fonroque, that lay on a hard limestone called calcaire à astéries, so he named the wine Les Astéries. The 80 year old vines are 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

Next, in 2005, came Le Carré – a 1.1ha plot next to Clos Fourtet on more typically St Emilion clay over limestone soil. Le Carré is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

And, in 2008, when the other brother at Vieux Château Mazerat died, Jonathan purchased the rest of the estate. The 3.5ha of vineyard also lie next to Château Angélus (and, also, Château Canon) but in a separate block from Le Dôme, on more usual clay/limestone soil, and with a different grape mix (65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc), so the old estate was not re-united. But in a nod to their former joint status, the Vieux Château Mazerat has the same label as Le Dôme except the colours are reversed.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
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