Chateau Margaux 1. Cru Classé 2020 3 stk trækasse

Tastingbook.com

Vert de Vin Magazine

Izak Litwar, Great Bordeaux Wines

"Only 36% of harvest into Grand Vin. Impressed greatly with pure elegance, finesse, extraordinary length, and astonishing richness and complexity. Classy aristocrat, no less. Amazing stuff."

Decanter

A brilliant Margaux; one that takes a sigh and then releases the huge floral, eucalyptus and crushed mint whoosh that comes in waves though the palate. You get the concentration of the vintage in an entirely positive light, with a suave softness to the tannins that makes it stand head and shoulders above many others. Plenty in common with the 1996 vintage - the knitted down tannins, the completeness, the juicy blackcurrant purity and acidity on the finish, and the certainty of long ageing. Real clarity of flavour.

Markus del Monego MW

Intense purple colour with violet hue and black core. Excellent nose with multi-layered character, wonderfully perfumed with flowery components and very appealing fruit, blackberries, mulberries and hnts of blackcurrants, on the palate wonderfully mature tannins with silky texture, perfect fruit and wonderful flowery character, le grand classicism

James Suckling

So floral and perfumed with blackcurrants, blackberries and some asphalt. Full-bodied with super, fine tannins. Extremely refined with great length and intensity. The wonderful combination of refinement and power is already evident. Superb finish. Another great Margaux.

La Revue du Vin de France

Bernard Burtschy

Vinous

The 2020 Château Margaux, re-tasted at the château, is a little more open on the nose, revealing even more of its stunning delineation, just so pixelated. Black cherries, blueberry and perhaps a tad more red fruit than I noticed in the sample tasted in the UK, more classic in style. The palate is harmonious and poised with ethereal delineation, building in the mouth towards an almost pixelated finish that is utterly irresistible. There is heightened mineralité compared to the previous sample with astonishing persistence. I suspect this is one Left Bank where the 2020 will surpass the previous two vintages, but as Philippe Bascaule himself commented, it is a wine for his children rather than himself. This is even better than the sample sent to the UK, hence my higher score. Will it achieve perfection? We'll find out soon(ish).

The Wine Cellar Insider - Jeff Leve

"The purity of the fruit in the nose is striking. From there you move to notes of allspice, tobacco, roses, truffle, smoke, roasted plums, cherries and currants. Incredibly sensuous, silky and fresh, the fruit literally coats your palate with layers of velvet and silk textured berries. Intensely concentrated, weightless and effortless to drink, the wine seamlessly glides across your senses and holds with you for at least 60 seconds. This is a prodigious vintage of Chateau Margaux. The product of an early vintage, picking took place September 10 to September, 30. Yields were 36 hectoliters per hectare, with the Grand Vin produced from only 36% of the crop. The wine blends 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% ABV, 3.68 Ph"

Robert Parker

Displaying an opaque purple-black color, it needs a lot of air, time and patience to coax out the youthfully reticent nose of blueberry preserves, blackcurrant pastilles and Black Forest cake, followed by suggestions of lavender, clove oil, iron ore and menthol with wafts of star anise and candied violets. The medium to full-bodied palate is wonderfully opulent, featuring tightly wound yet beautifully pure layers of black fruits and earthy nuances within a solid structure of firm yet velvety tannins and exhilarating freshness, finishing with very long-lingering earth and mineral notes. Another stunning expression of the vintage by Philippe Bascaules and his team—bravo!

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

The purity of the fruit in the nose is striking. From there you move to notes of allspice, tobacco, roses, truffle, smoke, roasted plums, cherries and currants. Incredibly sensuous, silky and fresh, the fruit literally coats your palate with layers of velvet and silk textured berries. Intensely concentrated, weightless and effortless to drink, the wine seamlessly glides across your senses and holds with you for at least 60 seconds. This is a prodigious vintage of Chateau Margaux.