Red Wines

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Dark and heady on the nose, richly fruited and perfumed, smells serious and deep and totally inviting with dark chocolate, coffee and mocha notes with blackcurrant and black cherry and spiced vanilla, tobacco and cedar. Energetic, lively, vivid and bright on the palate but deep too, such a lovely vibrancy laced with liquorice, tobacco and bitter chocolate. Definitely serious but I love the energy, potency and florality. Structured and intense, totally seductive in a heady way yet still lively with a juicy core of strawberry, red cherry and blackcurrant. Feels nicely constructed and considered. A great second wine.Decanter | 95 DECBlackcurrants and dark chocolate with rose stems and flowers. Full-bodied with chewy tannins, racy texture and a spicy finish. Polished. 50% merlot, 42% cabernet sauvignon and 8% petit verdot. Try after 2028.James Suckling | 95 JSMore Cabernet Sauvignon-based in most vintages, the 2020 Les Griffons De Pichon Baron is a slight shift and is based on 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in 50% new French oak. More pure cassis, redcurrants, acacia flowers, violets, and graphite flow to a full-bodied, beautifully textured, concentrated 2020 with enough tannins to warrant 4-5 years of bottle age.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThis wine is firm, its balance of Cabernet Sauvignon giving rich concentration and structure. The wine is dense, offering ripe tannins over the black currant fruits. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2020 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron contains the Petit Verdot that was previously blended with the Les Tourelles. This has an intense nose with graphite and chalk-tinged black fruit, touches of black olive compote emerging with time, all with wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm and saturated tannins, very pure, precise and poised. Gentle grip with a lively, citrus-fresh finish, and hints of blue fruit on the aftertaste.Vinous Media | 93 VMJuicy, ripe and focused, with a delicious core of cassis and damson plum notes that mingle well, flanked by a hint of singed cedar and carried by floral and iron notes through the finish. Lovely. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036. 6,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2020 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron has turned out nicely, offering up aromas of sweet cassis, berries, loamy soil and tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, it’s pure and more serious than the Tourelles, with a more Cabernet-driven personality (along with all the estate’s Petit Verdot this year).Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2020 Marquis d’Alesme is matured in 50% new oak and was bottled a little later than other châteaux. It has a crisp bouquet with redcurrant, white-tipped strawberry, cedar and crushed violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine and quite saturated tannins, mainly black fruit tinged with spice, smooth in texture with a touch of piquancy towards the finish. It is persistent and it blossoms in the glass. Very fine.Vinous Media | 94 VMThe 2020 Château Marquis D’Alesme Becker showed well, and this tiny Margaux estate continues to producer fabulous wines under the helm of Marjolaine de Coninck. Based on 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it has a juicy, medium-bodied, round, even sexy style that carries lots of cassis and assorted darker, blue fruits, notes of spicy wood, flowers, and violet, soft tannins, terrific balance, and great finish. Coming from a mix of gravelly, sandy soils and aged in 50% new French oak, this beauty hit 14% natural alcohol (no doubt helped by the large Merlot component) and is going to benefit from just a few years of bottle age. It’s going to see its 20th birthday in fine form.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDChewy and very tannic with a solid depth of dark fruit, showing blackberry and currant character. Full and powerful. Real structure here.James Suckling | 94-95 JSSolidly built, with a singed sandalwood and alder frame holding a core of dark plum and warmed cassis together, while light charcoal, bay leaf and earth details emerge on the finish. A strong showing. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2036.Wine Spectator | 93 WSJuicy and upfront, this is deep and rich with a dominant aspect of liquorice, salty stones, dark chocolate and cola, giving this a bit of a savoury and heady aspect with the fruit in the background slightly. Excellent weight on the palate, I like the firm structure and the integrated tannins. Serious and confident, I love the energy and the texture, it’s just a great density in the mouth, not too thick but the concentration matched by the acidity, and the freshness is great. Juicy and balanced. Quite tannic overall, but lovely life and lift at the end. Well worked. Decanter | 93 DEC

A crunchy and fresh 2020 with sliced oranges and redcurrants as well as cedar and nutmeg. Full-bodied with very firm and tight tannins. Bright finish. Crushed stone at the end as well. Needs three to five years to soften. 56% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot. First year with organic farming. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2020 Château Pédesclaux reminds me of the 2016 with its concentrated, pure, classic Pauillac style. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it has a great nose of pure blue fruits (currants, cassis) as well as ample lead pencil, chalky minerality, and violet aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has the purity and polish to shine even today, yet my money is on it benefiting from 4-6 years of bottle age, and it should evolve gradually over the following 15+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDTense and coiled, lovely styling here with bright and vibrant black fruits, a soft hit of creaminess alongside liquorice-laced tannins. Power and brawn, clearly structured and intense, this will age very well just a bit shy and tight right now. Dark chocolate, menthol freshness, plum and rosemary. Excellent tannic grip and I love the sweetness on the palate as well as overall freshness. Something very captivating about this and upscored from a tasting in September.Decanter | 94 DECMatured in 55% new oak, the 2020 Pédesclaux, has a very Cabernet-driven nose as indeed, this Pauillac estate has been gradually moving towards the variety in recent years. Blackberry, freshly-rolled tobacco and light pencil box notes. This is clean and precise. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fresh and fleshy, yet there is backbone here with a gentle but insistent grip towards the smooth finish. Maybe it just needs a little more complexity overall, but this should still drink well for the next two decades.Vinous Media | 91 VM

The tannins make their presence felt from the first moments, giving both depth and spice but also a certain constriction. This is not a year for exuberant second wines in St-Julien - there are well-framed black fruits, some fresh St-Julien balance, but a little sombre overall. 60% of overall production. Cabernet Franc 3% completes the blend. A yield of 31hl/ha.Decanter | 90 DEC

This shows aromas of blackcurrants and black cherries with cocoa, pine cones, toasted spices and nut shell. Medium-bodied with round and polished tannins and a fine texture. Some delicious fruit character coming through turning to a chalky and crushed stone yet juicy finish. Try in 2024.James Suckling | 93 JSBlack fruits dominate with the focus on blackcurrants, black cherries and plums with a soft undercurrent of savoury spice - liquorice, clove, cinnamon, chocolate and coffee beans. I like the dark fruit nature and the overall weight. Tannins are firm and supportive and this has a great juicy and fresh core that sustains the wine from start to finish. Much punchier than some of the other Médoc wines, this has push and persistence. Confident and characterful. Eric Boissenot consultant.Decanter | 91 DECAmple blackberry and dark cherry fruits as well as a sappy, floral core define the 2020 Château Sénéjac, a pretty, fresh, nicely focused red with class. It should be solid, if not outstanding.Jeb Dunnuck | 88-90 JD

This is seriously structured with blackcurrants, blueberries and iodine. It’s full yet so tight and focused with serious austerity and focus. Very classy and polished with precision. A terrific Siran. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 95 JSAll the elements are showing well in this wine from the southern end of Margaux. It’s an estate that is showing great promise and the wine brings together great tannins and richly delineated black fruits. It will age well.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WERipe and rich black fruits on the nose, smells heady and fully aromatic in a fruit-forward way, with blackcurrants, berries and sweet Ribena edges. Juicy and supple, nicely lively in the mouth, high acidity, with quite present tannins that are a little bit chalky and enjoyably bitter. Lovely viscous texture at first, with plenty of acidity and succulence, feels extremely youthful and on the edgy side right now, but is rounded, forward and full in body. It’s on the richer, riper side and a has a touch of sweet jamminess to it alongside spiced nuance and some terroir influence via the cool, minty salinity. Extremely likeable and one to watch.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2020 Siran is packed with the essence of blackberry jam, mocha, espresso, bittersweet chocolate, licorice and cloves. This dark, sumptuous Margaux is not at all subtle, but it does pack quite the punch. This is an especially opulent style, to be sure.Vinous Media | 92 VMLots of red and blue fruits, spring flowers, graphite, and leafy tobacco notes all emerge from the 2020 Château Siran, a medium-bodied, elegant, incredibly pretty and finesse-driven Margaux. It shows the fresher, elegant style of the vintage and has remarkable purity, fine tannins, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Siran features notes of blackcurrant jelly, ripe redcurrants and raspberry leaves, plus suggestions of wild sage, tar and underbrush, with a waft of wild mushrooms. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled and refreshing, delivering approachable, soft tannins and plenty of red berry layers, finishing earthy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RP