Chateau Haut Marbuzet 2020

JAMES SUCKLING: "Perfumed dark fruits with toasted spices, crushed walnut shell, savory herbs, graphite and tobacco leaves. Full-bodied. Layers of ripe and chewy tannins that are well-integrated with a velvety and plush core of black fruit. Bold, firm and structured with so much potential. Lingering, chalky finish sits there for minutes. Classic Haut-Marbuzet. Try from 2028."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Deeply colored, the wine pops with its showy nose of espresso, truffle, smoke, licorice, cocoa, blackberry and black cherries. Medium/full-bodied, with soft, silky, polished textures, lift and multiple layers of ripe, sweet, polished, lusciously-textured fruits that linger. This scored much higher in bottle than it did in barrel as the is close to fully integrated. This is clearly the best vintage ever produced at Haut Marbuzet! Give it a few more years in the cellar and you are going to have a gem in your cellar. Drink from 2025-2045."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Big and bold with dark tannins, this wine is full, complex and has great aging potential. Its texture, richness and juicy acidity are impressive. Drink from 2027."

DECANTER: "Intense and pleasingly complex aromas of oak, plum, liquorice and blackberry. Juicy mid-palate, evoking wet stone, brambly red and ripe dark fruit. There is structure here, too, for cellaring this wine, which is fit for gourmet meals. The finish dries just a bit from oak-derived tannin (aged in 100% new oak). Time in bottle should resolve matters."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2020 Haut-Marbuzet is showing very well in bottle, offering up aromas of blackberries and plum preserve mingled with hints of pencil shaving, rose petal, licorice and lilac. Medium to full-bodied, it's rich and fleshy, its broad attack segueing into an enveloping mid-palate framed by powdery, youthfully firm tannins, concluding with a nicely defined finish. It can't quite match the energy and elegance of 2019, but it's a terrific effort that could embarrass plenty of classified growths."

WEINWISSER: "55 % Merlot, 35 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 % Cabernet Franc, 5 % Petit Verdot, 30 hl/ha, Alkohol 13.5 vol%. Tiefes Purpur mit opaker Mitte und zartem lila Rand. Berauschendes blaubeeriges Bouquet mit reifer Heidelbeere, Holundergelee und verführerischem Veilchenparfüm, dahinter schwarze Johannisbeerdrops und parfümierter Pfeifentabak. Am dichten Gaumen mit weicher Textur, fein mehligem Extrakt und engmaschigem Tanningerüst gepaart mit lebendiger Rasse. Im konzentrierten Finale ein voller Korb mit blauen Beeren, Wacholder, Graphit und fordernder Adstringenz. Kann noch zulegen!"

JEB DUNNUCK: "A little gem of a wine, the 2020 Château Haut-Marbuzet boasts a deep purple color as well as medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of cassis, blackcurrants, tobacco, and damp earth. It’s ripe, rounded, and pure on the palate, with wonderful precision and freshness as well as silky tannins. It’s worth seeking out."