Château Monbousquet 2020

Perfumed and heady with blue fruits and bramble. Lean and straight, there’s a real austerity to this, serious liquorice on the palate, a touch dry; you get a sense of heat and fruit. A little reserved right now; tense and serious, but with backbone and weight. It’s dark, savoury, coiled and tense, with drive and texture, showing tobacco, graphite and an iron, mineral tang.

Very tight and linear with blackberries, chocolate and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied. Linear. Racy and pretty. Drinkable but better in three or four years.

Black cherries, black plums, espresso, smoke, licorice, and a touch of cocoa form the aromatic profile. The wine is lush, polished, sweet and fresh with polished tannins and a vibrant, refined finish with a mild savory, minty, fresh note in the background on the finish. The reduction in the amount of new oak, now at 50%, really helps with the freshness, texture, and fruit here. This is a top vintage for Monbousquet that will be enjoyable in its youth, yet age for up to 2 decades as well. Drink from 2023-2040.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, subtle brightening on the rim. Delicate black cherry fruit backed by fresh figs, candied orange zest, some vanilla and cardamom. Full-bodied, ripe black berries, some nougat, vivid tannins, minerality, good length, certain ageing potential.

Nice purity showing both ripeness and freshness, a wealth of dark berries, some stony and smoky notes, yet not really from oak. The palate is dense and vigorous with a fresh backbone, layered and fine tannins with dense young fruit flavours and good length.

The 2020 Château Monbousquet is lights-out good, offering a full-bodied, concentrated, opulent profile as well as notes of ripe black cherries, cassis, chocolate, and leafy herbs. With terrific purity, velvety tannins, and incredible richness as well as a remarkable sense of freshness, it's going to evolve for 15+ years in cold cellars.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: (70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 hl/ha, 14.69% vol. alcohol) Spicy, herbal, dark bouquet with black cherries, blackberries, dark chocolate, dark caramel, licorice. Powerful, dense palate with ripe, dark fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a muscular structure, intense dark aromatics, and a long, slightly drying finish. Has room to improve.

(70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 hl/ha, 14.69% alc.) Spicy, austere, dark bouquet: black cherries, blackberries, dark chocolate, dark caramel, licorice. Powerful, dense palate with bold, dark fruit, plenty of fine tannin, a muscular structure, intense dark aromatics, and a long, slightly drying finish. Has room to improve. 17/20 2028 - 2042

92-93

On the nose, deep, brooding aromas of dark fruits (blackberries, plums) with the freshness of pine. Sumptuous on the palate, richness and freshness are in perfect balance. The enveloping texture is offset by a lively, mouthwatering acidity.

The nose is fruity, offering freshness and a hint of concentration. It reveals notes of blackcurrant, black plum and, more subtly, violet, combined with touches of pulpy raspberry, fine hints of vanilla and a discreet touch of licorice. The palate is fruity and balanced, delivering juiciness, indulgence, good definition, a certain control, a certain richness, a lovely finely granular texture, appealing roundness/delicacy, and freshness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/fleshy blackberry, fleshy blackcurrant and, more subtly, violet, combined with touches of blueberry and raspberry, small hints of black fruits, nuances of tonka bean/mocha and cornflower, as well as fine hints of nutmeg, vanilla and discreet notes of caramelization. The tannins are precise and finely mellow. Good length. Nice work on the bitters on the finish.

A lush wave of boysenberry, blackberry and black cherry reduction notes unfurls slowly over a refined spine of chalk, while sweet tobacco, violet, iris, licorice and apple wood notes fill in liberally. Everything stays in lockstep through the very long finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2027 through 2042.