Appellations

Le Prieuré 2020

St Emilion, Grand Cru Classé

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Tasting Notes

The 2020 Le Prieuré is fabulous. Inky and deep, with tremendous vibrancy, it dazzles from start to finish. Blueberry jam, graphite, menthol and lavender build as the 2020 gradually shows off its pedigree. Bright saline and mineral notes punctuate the mouthwatering finish. Technical Director Pénélope Godefroy has taken the farming and winemaking principles she learned at Latour and the other Artemis Group properties and applied them at Siaurac, Vray Croix de Gay, and the crown jewel Le Prieuré, all of which are now owned by French insurance company Suravenir. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. Le Prieuré is quite simply one of the most beautiful, striking wines being made in Saint-Émilion today.

Score: 95 - 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2050 Date: 01 June 2021

The 2020 Le Prieuré is very intense on the nose of pure blackberry, raspberry preserve and subtle blueberry scents, the oak extremely well integrated. The medium-bodied palate delivers velvety tannins and a mélange of red and black fruit laced with blood orange and hints of marmalade. This is a nimble, tensile Saint-Émilion with real puissance toward the finish and a persistent spicy aftertaste. Wonderful.

Score: 94 - 96 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2027-2050 Date: 24 May 2021

A rich, ripe, opulent wine that shows more and more freshness and elegance with time in the glass, the 2020 Château Le Prieuré offers an outstanding array of black raspberry and mulled cherry fruits as well as background leafy herbs and chocolate. With high-quality tannins, good overall balance, and a great finish, it should easily be an outstanding wine and keep for 15+ years. It’s every bit as good as the 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Score: 91 - 93 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 23 May 2021

The 2020 Le Prieure is a blend of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, with 14.3% alcohol. It is aging for an anticipated 16 months in French oak barriques, 35% new. Deep purple-black colored, it needs a little swirling and coaxing to reveal fragrant notes of lilacs, underbrush and sandalwood over a core of Morello cherries and plum preserves, plus a waft of woodsmoke. The medium to full-bodied palate has beautiful energy and tension, featuring layers of juicy red and black fruits with a plush texture, finishing long and perfumed. What a stunner!

Score: 93 - 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2024-2049 Date: 20 May 2021

Textured with depth to the hawthorn, raspberry and blackberry fruit that travels down several layers. The frame is drenched with juicy and taut limestone minerality, with almost a juniper and saline sting. Hard to argue with the quality here. First year with new owners, Suravenir of Calon-Ségur, Penelope Godefroy is still the winemaker. A yield of 30hl/ha, organic winemaking.

Score: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2040 Date: 01 May 2021

Full bottle 1,250 g. Cask sample taken 7 April. Property acquired by the Pinault family's Artémis wine group and now converted to biodynamic viticulture, but sold, along with their other right bank ventures Chx Siaurac in Lalande-de-Pomerol and Vray Croix de Gay in Pomerol to Suravenir, the insurance group that also owns Ch Calon Ségur. More transparent crimson than most of its peers. Subtle but confident nose. Nothing obviously sweet about this. Very appetising and engaging with real 21st-century grip and authenticity. The team, led from Ch Latour in Pauillac presumably, really seem to have sprinkled some refinement magic dust on this wine. Very distinctive and much drier and less obviously tannic than most 2020 St-Émilions. I wonder whether it was picked a bit earlier? Impressive freshness and drive without notable acidity.

Score: 17 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2025-2045 Date: 11 April 2021