Château Haut-Marbuzet 2020

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.

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 2020 Haut-Marbuzet has a lovely bouquet with pure blackberry and raspberry fruit, cedar and light tobacco scents. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh with a minty entry and fine depth, becoming almost “playful” toward the finish. What a delightful wine. It's approachable now but has the substance to reward cellaring. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Deeply colored, the wine pops with its showy nose of espresso, truffle, smoke, licorice, cocoa, blackberry and black cherries. Medium to 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 it is now 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. Drink from 2025–2045.

Good intensity, wild berries, crème de cassis with fine wood and tobacco. Ample palate with a classic tannic backbone, good power and length, plenty of character in its classic age-worthy style.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: a velvety, powerful bouquet with a light wood influence, blackcurrant, plum, vanilla, caramel, strawberry jelly. Powerful, dense palate with good fruit, finely powdery tannins, a well‑muscled structure, dark, intense aromatics, and a long, bitter finish. Has room to improve.

Silky, powerful bouquet with a slight wood influence, cassis, plum, vanilla, caramel, strawberry jelly. Powerful, dense palate with good fruit, finely powdery tannins, a well‑muscled structure, bold dark aromatics, long, bitter finish. Still has room to improve. 17/20 2027 - 2040

An old-school St Estèphe with layers of firm, chewy tannins and brambled black fruits. Owned by Henri Duboscq, this is a wine with ageing potential; not my favourite vintage (I’d go 2019 or 2016 among recent years), but it’s hard to fault the heart and the sense of swaggering tannic grip. 100% new oak.

The 2020 Haut-Marbuzet is deep garnet-purple in color. It features classic cedar, pencil lead, and cassis scents, followed by wafts of kirsch and underbrush. Medium-bodied, the palate is a little thin and chewy, with a refreshing if somewhat abrupt finish.

93-94

There is no doubt that the 2020 will be a landmark at Haut-Marbuzet. It brings together everything that makes this cru so charming and has built its reputation: velvety tannins, exquisite charm, and a fruit-forward, silky palate. It is set for a long life.

A reduced nose on jammy black fruits, blackberry, morello cherry and black plum. Although the oak is still marked, you can sense a very lovely texture, fine and silky, with an acidulous backbone that stretches on and on.

Haut-Marbuzet is one of the sure values of St-Estèphe. 2020 is no exception. It clearly starts by showing its élevage, but the wine confirms its greatness in its ability to rise above that and ultimately highlight its fruity intensity along with notes of graphite and cedar. A charming, powerful, and persistent wine with an acidic structure that brings pep and lengthens the finish. A great success.

Logo on the cork: A in a circle (Amorim) Dark, intense and bright color. Very aromatic nose, with finely creamy fruit and a slight spiciness. A touch of wood. Delicately fleshy on the attack, aromatic mid-palate, with classy flavor; the wine melts on the juicy palate and is accompanied by a woody spice on the finish. Good sappy length.

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.