Utseende: Djupt rubinröd färg med röd kant.

Doft: Fruktig doft med fatkaraktär och toner av plommon, cassis, ceder och en aning råtobak.

Smak: Fin fruktig smak, drygt medelfyllig, med bra balans, sandiga tanniner, bra syra och toner av plommon, svarta vinbär och lite cigarrlåda och ceder.

2020

Decanter - 92 p - "Crisp with real bite, upfront and almost sharp and tart, but stays just right with licks of wet stone, dark blackcurrant and liquorice giving that saline, savoury edge. Deep and layered, with real concentration and an intensity of flavour from start to finish, focused and streamlined so coming across as a bit strict but nice overall frame. Juicy too which is lovely. A great buy. A touch of alcohol still present, giving heat and expansive of potency on the finish, but I like this all the same. Impressive and precise."

Jeff Leve - 94 p - "The floral bouquet is what you initially notice before moving on to its licorice, tobacco leaf, espresso, and chocolate-covered plum notes. On the palate, the wine is seductive with its silky textures and opulent nature. On the finish, the wine feels as good on the palate as it tastes. This is in contention for the best vintage of Dalem I have ever tasted. Drink from 2023–2038."

Vertdevin - 94 p - "Dalem 2020 seems serene, composed. It has mastered the richness of the vintage and displays commendable harmony! Its tannins are fleshy and perfectly integrated. They provide breadth and promising ageing potential. An expressive, persistent wine. The limestone-driven freshness played a decisive role in 2020. Dalem benefits greatly from it! What energy in this wine!"

Yves Beck - 93 p - "Dalem 2020 seems serene, composed. It has mastered the richness of the vintage and displays commendable harmony! Its tannins are fleshy and perfectly integrated. They provide breadth and promising ageing potential. An expressive, persistent wine. The limestone-driven freshness played a decisive role in 2020. Dalem benefits greatly from it! What energy in this wine!"

Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 93 p - "Made from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Dalem is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with cedar and baked plum notes, followed by nuances of underbrush, cast-iron pan, and tilled soil. The full-bodied palate is packed with vibrant black fruits and cedary undertones, supported by fine-grained tannins and a lively backbone, leading to a long, minerally finish on this nice wine."

Jean-Marc Quarin - 93 p - "Dark, intense, youthful color. A very aromatic nose - fruity, fresh, ripe, and subtle. Shades of flowers and red fruits. The palate is a suave, melting world of aromas, with brightness at mid-palate. A very pretty, delicious, long finish with a very well-coated grain. Lovely length."

Andreas Larsson - 92 p - "Ripe fruit, sweet cherry and kirsch with some aromatic herbs, discreet wood, some earthy notes, with a fresh and dense palate, finely rounded and digestible."

Wine Spectator - 91 p - "A solid version, with a core of dark cherry and red currant fruit laced with a taut, chalky mineral edge. Subtle tobacco and warm earth hints dot the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2034."

Jeb Dunnuck - 91 p - "Beautiful as always, the 2020 Château Dalem has a pure, vibrant, and elegant, medium-bodied style to go with textbook notes of chocolaty red and black fruits, some leafy herb and earthy nuances, beautiful minerality, and fine tannins. This up-front, textured, nicely balanced Fronsac is drinking nicely today yet has another 7-8 years, if not a decade, of prime drinking ahead of it."

Vinum - 16 p - "Even after maturation, pronounced notes of oak remain; a powerful attack, untamed development, and a finish shaped by high extract; an imposing yet harmonious, excellently crafted wine that absolutely should be aged."

Bettane+Desseauve - 92-93 p

2022

James Suckling - 95 p - "A fresh-toned and complex Fronsac, showing a touch of cocoa powder to the ripe berry fruit plus a hint of ink, graphite and spices. Almost full-bodied but not heavy, with vibrating tannins towing the fruit to a long, lively finish. The tannins are chalky and already dissolved. Merlot and cabernet franc. Delicious now but will hold well in the next eight to ten years."

Jeff Leve - 94 p - "Spices, flowers, fruits, silky tannins and layers of red and black plums that are a treat to taste. The wine is medium-bodied, soft, round and delivers length and complexity in the finish. Drink from 2025-2037."

Yves Beck - 95 p - "Que d'expressions, de pluralité, de fraicheur dans le bouquet de Dalem qui brille autant de ses notes de baies rouges que de son caractère crayeux. Dense et velouté en attaque, le vin cumule largeur et vigeur. Il adopte une stature sereine et aboutie, garante d'un avenir prometteur tout en étant déjà délicieux! Très belle réussite."

Christer Byklum - 94 p - "Ruby. Dark fruits, cassis, blackberries, spices, ripe and richer nose, detailed. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, blackberries, detailed, cassis, blueberries, intense and dark fruits, long finish."

Vert de vin 93-94 p - "The nose is fruity and offers a nice creaminess, gourmandise as well as a toasted side. It reveals notes of creamy raspberry, crushed red currants and small notes of purple plums associated with touches of morello cherry, balsamic as well as fine hints of cardamom and sense of place (local biotope). The palate is mineral, well-balanced and offers freshness, elegance, a beautiful matter as well as beautiful racy grain. Finesse in its grain as well as in its concentration. On the palate this wine expresses notes of juicy/pulpy blackberry, strawberry and small notes of pulpy black currant associated with touches of licorice, colas, balsamic as well as hints of creamy vanilla. Good length. Tannins are elegant and mellow. Good persistence."

In Vino - 16 p - "Nyanserad doft av cassis, mörka plommon, mörk choklad, kaffe, korinter, färska örter, grön paprika och fatkryddor. Torr, drygt medelfyllig, koncentrerad mörkfruktig och örtig smak med drygt medelhög syra, tuggiga, balanserade tanniner och en lång, bra, komplex eftersmak med en del ekfatstoner på slutet."

Wine Spectator - 92 p - "A nicely saturated core of plum and cassis flavours is well-supported by warm earth and sweet tobacco notes. Shows violet and sanguine flashes through the focused, steady finish."

Falstaff - 92 p - "Dark ruby garnet, opaque core, purple reflections, subtle rim brightening. Fresh black cherries, dark wild berries, delicate herbal savouriness, mineral touch. Medium-bodied, red berries and fresh, pleasant acidic bow, lemony-mineral finish, a lively food companion."

Jane Anson - 93 p