Château d'Issan Margaux 3. Cru Classé 2017 i trækasse

Tastingbook.com

James Suckling

The plum and orange-peel character comes through here with subtle focus. Medium body and very fine, polished and refined tannins. A light, dusty texture to it. Yet, it’s always focused and bright. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. Needs time to soften, but already very pretty. Ethereal.

Decanter

This is rather lovely this year. It has a real depth to the fruit, with a brush of caramel through it and a highly appealing cigar box twist on the finish. It doesn't quite have the voluptuous ripeness of 2015 and 2016, but there's plenty of Margaux elegance, precision and touches of florality. They weren't badly affected by frost here, so they had a healthy yield of 43hl/ha. A complete wine with beginning, middle and end. 50% new oak.

Jeb Dunnuck

The 2017 Chateau D'Issan offers more of everything, with a deep ruby/plum color and rocking notes of black raspberries, cassis, spring flowers, violets, loamy earth, and dried tobacco. Beautifully textured, elegant, and finesse-oriented, it has excellent tannins, medium to full body, and an outstanding finish. Based on a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot representing just 47% of the total production, aged in 50% new oak, give bottles 3-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This estate covers just over 42 hectares of vines planted in deep, gravelly, clay-based soils. The quality here has been on an upward trend over the past decade thanks to the talents of Emmanuel Cruse and consultant Eric Boissenot.

Vinous

The 2017 d'Issan is pliant, supple and nuanced. This is an especially rich, voluptuous style, with a real feeling of lushness from the Merlot. Dark plum, tobacco, leather, cedar, licorice and spice build into a creamy, racy finish wrapped with silky tannins. Creamy and textured, with impeccable balance, the 2017 Issan is a winner from Emmanuel Cruse and his team.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

A silky style of wine that is medium bodied, forward, polished and fruity. There is lift, ripe red fruits, forest leaf and tobacco strokes from start to finish. The juicy fruits in the endnote offer melodious, creamy textures. In three to five years this will develop even more intriguing complexities and softer textures. From a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Merlot, the wine reached 13.18% alcohol with a pH of 3.68. The Grand Vin was produced from 47% of the harvest. The picking took place September 18 through October 3.

Wine Chronicles

Well, well, well. This estate is getting better and better. Depending on the price, I may be a buyer. One of the most successful Margaux wines of the vintage. It actually approaches the quality of its 2015, and is every bit as interesting this vintage as Château Palmer, which is no easy feat. Such purity of fruit. And longer than many wines tasted at the negociant Joanne, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. It clocks in at 13% alcohol and is aging in 50 percent new oak. My overall impression is a wine of precision and elegance. Was frost an issue? At 43 hectoliters per hectare, it does not seem to have been such a problem. Tasted at the negociant Vintex, the notion of refinement and finesse shined through. Bravo!