Château Moulin Haut-Laroque 2020

Solidly built, with dark tobacco and cast iron notes framing a core of dark plum and black currant fruit. Shows ample drive and toast on the finish, but this has good tension from underlying chalky minerality. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Best from 2024 through 2033. 4,000 cases made, 500 cases imported.

A gorgeous wine made with precision. Perfect ripeness of fruits, lots of fresh mulberries packed in layers. Great tannin profile, present in volume but all well polished. Very skillful use of oak, subtle and complementary to the structure. A good choice for ageing in cellars, or enjoyed earlier with a suitable food pairing.

This has aromas of mulberries, blackberries, hazelnuts and violets. Full-bodied, with firm and compact tannins. Plenty of weight and depth. I like the blue fruit and floral character. 65% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% malbec. Drink from 2026.

The 2020 Moulin Haut-Laroque didn’t really rock my world in barrel. Now in bottle, it has improved on the nose, gaining more clarity with simple brambly black fruit and just an undercurrent of greenness. The palate is medium-bodied with coarse tannins, touches of black olive infusing the black fruit, but it feels short on the finish.

Glossy, lush, fresh and silky, the dark red pit fruits linger on the mid-palate and through the finish, bringing notes of chocolate, licorice and a touch of salty chalk on the endnote. This should deliver pleasure for at least 12 years. Drink from 2023-2035.

Lots of darker, almost blue fruits as well as classic cedary spice, tobacco, and liquid violet notes emerge from the 2020 Château Moulin Haut-Laroque, a medium- to full-bodied, ripe, round, seamless Fronsac offering tons of character. It plays in the pure, elegant, focused style of the vintage, has ripe tannins, and is going to deliver the goods over the coming decade.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: floral, silky, elegant, fresh bouquet; raspberries, cherries, pralines, nougat, balsa wood. Balanced, tightly knit, finely structured palate with fresh, fine, powerful fruit, varied, sweet aromatics, silky structure, fine tannin, long, full finish.

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Moulin Haut-Laroque powers out with bold boysenberry preserves and baked blackberries notes, followed by hints of crushed rocks, bay leaves, and anise. The medium to full-bodied palate is nicely balanced, with ripe, rounded tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the generous fruit, finishing earthy.

89-90

Moulin Haut Laroque 2020 is complex and subtle. It unfolds with finesse through aromas of black berries and spices, followed by a hint of graphite. The wine is dense, with compact, precise tannins that provide excellent structure. A harmonious wine that deserves a little time in the cellar. A fine success.

The nose is elegant, precise and offers depth, a certain concentration, a lovely airy character, as well as a discreetly tight grain (at present). It reveals notes of small black berries, camphor and, more subtly, lily, combined with touches of Madagascar pepper and blackberry, along with hints of toast, a discreet touch of fresh tobacco and a very discreet hint of roasting. The palate is mineral, racy and offers freshness, good definition, a certain accuracy, tension, precision, clarity, energy, delicacy within its power, and depth. A lovely silky-creamy feel while retaining freshness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy/fleshy blackberry, fresh/fleshy small black berries and, more subtly, fairly ripe raspberry, combined with touches of star anise, sweet blond tobacco, cardamom, as well as a hint of roasted cherry, hints of toast, mocha, camphor, mocha, and a discreet hint of spice (a hint of Malbec?). The tannins are precise, elegant and racy.

Dark, intense, black color. Very aromatic nose, with ripe and even complex fruit. Soft and expansive on the attack, with an unprecedented sense of caress and plenty of power beneath the sweetness, the wine rises further on the finish with flavors of dark fruits, never showing the tannin. It’s superb. A great success.