Domaine de Cambes 2020

An enjoyable wine from the Francois Mitjavile Roc de Cambes stable, made with grapes planted just outside of Bourg. Enjoyable, well balanced and cheerfully unfussy wine with a highly attractive smoky edge from carefully delivered oak. This is good stuff, and no need to wait.

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Ripe, rich and concentrated, the fruit on the edge of confit. Little evidence of the oak at present but a light, grainy, tannic frame. Voluptuous and gourmand as always. (JL)

A light touch of creamy espresso, cedar, tobacco leaf, spice, and earthy red fruits starts off the wine. On the medium-bodied palate, the wine is soft, open, and fresh, with spicy, earthy red fruits and herbs that carry through to the finish. 87-90 pts

Coming from the Côtes-de-Bourg appellation on the Right Bank and an estate owned by the Mitjavile family of Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf, the 2020 Domaine De Cambes is another beautiful wine from this team that has a singular style. Redcurrants, plums, mulled cherries, spicy oak, cigar, and chocolate notes define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, with supple, soft tannins and a great finish. It's a softer, more approachable wine compared to the more structured Roc de Cambes, although both are brilliant wines.

The 2020 Domaine des Cambes has a perfumed and curiously quite Burgundian bouquet, very pure with red cherries and crushed strawberry fruit. Pretty. The palate reverts back to its regional origin, grainy tannins, quite gourmand in style with savory, cereal-tinged finish. Easy and open, enjoy this over the next 12 years or so.