Clos du Marquis 2020

This has the most gorgeous savoury fruit edge, a brilliant Marquis with a sappy chalky quality, concentrated and intense but still keeps the St-Julien balance. 40% new oak.Drinking Window 2024 - 2036

61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.Deep, bright crimson. Attractive Cabernet nose with dark-fruit and floral notes. Smooth and luscious on attack with a depth of crunchy fruit and incredibly fine-grained tannins. ITP index a massive 84 (higher than Las Cases) but you don’t feel the tannins. Definite potential. (JL) 13.6%Drink 2027 – 2040

(61% CS, 33% M, 6% CF; 13.5% ABV; 40% new)Lovely nose, subtle, fragrant, gently oaky, very seductive; medium-full, moderate in concentration, fresh to vital in acidity (much more marked in the Las Cases group of wines, which have a higher proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon), but in no way austere; dry, lightly gravelly, with a nice length of flavor, just a touch of classic Bordeaux austerity, a bit like the Petite Marquise, quite delicate but in no way weak, with an attractive complexity and very good length. A fine “mid-weight vintage” character. 2028–40+.

The 2020 Clos du Marquis was picked September 11–29 and matured in 40% new oak with 13.57° alcohol. This Saint-Julien displays copious blackberry and raspberry scents on the nose, intermingling with freshly rolled tobacco and subtle estuarine aromas. There is something almost... gentle about the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with satisfying sappiness on the entry that gets the saliva flowing. Quite classic in style, in keeping with the leitmotif of the vintage, this fans out toward the finish while retaining ample structure and a sense of linearity. This excellent Clos du Marquis brims over with breeding and should drink well for 20–30 years. 2027 - 2050.