Scores
90+
Robert Parker
Produced by the Durantou family, the 2019 Saintayme is a Saint-Émilion derived from soils rich in large stones in Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse. Offering up aromas of sweet raspberries, raw cocoa, spices and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and lively, with a fleshy core of fruit and fine, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. This will reward a bit of bottle age. It's 100% Merlot, all planted on vigor-reducing riparia rootstocks.
93
Vinous
The 2019 Saintayme is endowed with an impressively well-defined and focused bouquet with intense black cherries and blackberry fruit, tobacco and cedar. Plenty of energy here. The palate is quite oaky on the entry, but this is a Right Bank with plenty of stuffing, quite peppery towards the finish and demonstrating admirable persistence. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2025-2040.
93
James Suckling
This is racy and really fine with beautiful, polished tannins that run the length of the wine, It’s medium-bodied and really energetic. Hints of nutmeg. Give it a year or two, but hard to resist.
94
Decanter
Black chocolate, baked earth, liquorice root and silky smooth tannins greet you on the first attack of this wine. I've never found this the easiest to love of the Durantou range but it is strikingly successful in 2019. Silky and yet slatey in texture, this both eases you through the palate and pulls you up short, slowing things down. Sparks of fresh minerality accompany the pulsing blueberry and raspberry fruits, and the juicy finish makes this one to look out for.