I Howed it: 2019 Tour St Christophe

[DavidG]

Came home with a haul of 2019s and figured I’d sacrifice one early.

2019 Tour St Christophe: Dark purple, almost black. Cherry, dark berry nose, medium body, ripe fruit, decent balance, medium finish, hard to get a sense of place but it’s so young.

My first TSC. Pretty modern/ripe but not flabby or goopy. There’s some oak apparent but it’s not grossly over-oaked or alcoholic. Not sure it would stand out as Bordeaux in a blind tasting, at least at this early stage. I wouldn’t call it Napa-esque either. Maybe just too young, like an infant whose later appearance is hidden by baby fat. At $28 it punches well above its weight for a cab or cab blend.

[JimHow]

Well done DavidG.
Any sense on how the alcohol integrates?
I loved the 2014 and 2016 but I thought the 2015 was a little out of balance.
I’m a big fan of this estate.

[DavidG]

I figured you’d be interested in an early peek at this one Jim.

Label says 14.5% ABV so it’s up there, but the alcohol didn’t stick out much on the nose or palate. Balance seemed ok. I don’t buy the old saw that balance doesn’t change over time. I’ve seen it get better, I’ve seen it get worse. But I’m no good at predicting for really young wines so I’m not much help there.

It’s inexpensive and available enough to try for yourself when it hits the shelves in NH.

[AKR]

I don't think balance is some never changing aspect that can't shift given how wines develop. I think we've all experienced examples where cloying/overripe fruit* takes over, or abrasive tannins^ seize the hill, or wines that turn shrill and tart# as time marches on.

* 07 CNDP
^ 75 Medocs
# 14 Tuscany

[JimHow]

I've got a case of the 2019 Tour St. Christophe coming in from Zachy's at some point.
One of my most fun wine experiences was presenting the Tour St. Christophe wines with Howard Kwok and his wine maker at Harvard a few years ago. Just super nice folks.
What a damned shame the pandemic interfered with our visit there in 2020.