Château La Louvière 2020

Supple and forward in feel, with warmed plum and black cherry compote notes laced with balsam wood, savory and tobacco hints. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2026. 20,000 cases made, 200 cases imported.

Dark fruits, crushed stones, liquorice and purple flowers on the nose. Lovely freshness and sense of life, acidity is high but really balances the ripe fruit. Energetic and easy to enjoy, everything in place with nothing sticking out. An enjoyable and easily accessible wine that's ready to approach and enjoy now but will also continue to mature. Clean, crisp, juicy and finessed, with a pristine quality to the fruit and such beautiful acidity, making this a fun and totally moreish wine. I love the herbal/mentholated finish too! A great wine.

Fresh black berry fruit, graphite, fresh earth and tobacco leaves on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with firm, creamy tannins. Mineral and chalky at the end. Try after 2025.

The 2020 La Louvière is a gorgeous, complex wine. Sweet pipe tobacco, cedar, incense, dried herbs and gravel meld into a core of dark red berry fruit. Brambly and savory, the 2020 has a ton to offer. This mid-weight Pessac-Léognan is an absolute delight. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Pure nose showing mild oak, freshly crushed berries, some floral notes and cassis. Good volume and moderate density, rounded extract, rather supple already with floral dark fruit flavours and good length.

Ripe black cherries, currants, savory spice, and leather are just some of the nuances in the 2020 Château La Louvière, a medium-bodied, balanced, complex, incredibly charming Pessac-Léognan. It already offers pleasure if you don't mind tannins, but it's going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and drink brilliantly over the following decade or more. It's a beautiful wine.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: silky, red-berry bouquet, cherries, cedar, fine herbs. Slender, refined palate with sweet fruit, airy aromatics, silky structure, finely sandy tannins, fresh finish.

Silky, red-berried bouquet with cherries, cedar, fine herbs. Slender, refined palate with sweet fruit, airy aromatics, silky structure, fine sandy tannins, fresh finish. 17/20 2025 - 2040

Good quality, sappy, balanced, purposeful, delivering black fruits, liquorice root, sandalwood and creamy cappuccino notes. A little tight on the finish, but this is an impressive wine with character. Jacques Lurton owner.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 La Louviere Rouge charges out of the glass with energetic notes of redcurrant jelly, crunchy plums, and fresh blackcurrant, followed by touches of lavender, Ceylon tea, and iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with muscular, lively black and red fruits, supported by ripe, grainy tannins, finishing long and minerally.

88-89

The nose is like a bouquet of summer fruits, with aromas of strawberry, raspberry, cherry and blackberry, all lifted by fine spices and white pepper. The palate is broad, structured and racy, with very aristocratic tannins and a lively finish.

Plenty of freshness on the bouquet! Inviting notes of cherry and blackberry. On the palate, the wine is juicy, slender, and perfectly balanced. It is sapid, indulgent, and can already be enjoyed in its youth while offering good ageing potential.

Historically a safe bet (owned by vignobles André Lurton). Once again, a well-made wine offering a juicy, indulgent palate with lovely tannins. The whole is airy, without heaviness, well-balanced, tasty and fluid. It can also be enjoyed in its youth.

Black cherries, blackberries, plums, licorice, flowers, and spearmint resonate on the nose. From there, the palate reveals a wealth of fresh, silky, vibrant dark red fruits, buttressed by dark chocolate, espresso, elegant, supple textures, and a vibrancy that stays with you from start to finish. Drink from 2025–2045.

94–96. Barrel Sample. Owned by Jacques Lurton, the wine from this estate promises great richness and fine tannins as it develops. While it has serious tannins and power, the wine also promises some finely textured black fruits. It will certainly age well.