Château Lanessan 2020

Friendly and open-knit in feel, with a loam thread curling around easygoing plum and cherry compote notes. The finish is coated with singed vanilla. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2025. 20,000 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.

Nicely textured from the start with softly grainy tannins giving weight and frame to the red berry fruit with herbal edges. This has both a sour and savoury tang which gives the wine character and energy. Nice high acidity with some bitter dark chocolate edges, subtle liquorice, creamy/chalky raspberries and some salty minerality. Lots going on here – still a little tense, this hasn’t softened and expanded fully but there’s excellent potential. Will be delicious. Eric Boissenot consultant.

The 2020 Lanessan is just as compelling from bottle as it was from barrel. Dark, virile and imposing, Lanessan offers up a mix of black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, tobacco, scorched earth and licorice. Firm tannins wrap it all together in style. This is a terrific showing.

Flowers, cigar wrapper, mint, black and red currants, and a hint of toasty oak create the perfume. On the palate, the wine is round, supple, fresh, and fruity with layers of sweet, ripe, clean, juicy currants with a touch of peppery spice in the finish. Drink it within a year or two of age, and enjoy it for at least 15 or more years after that. Drink from 2024–2040.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, faint brightening on the rim. Fresh sweet cherry, delicate herbal savouriness, a hint of liquorice, fine nougat touch. Medium body, a touch of red berries, freshly structured, fine tannins, cherry finish, offers uncomplicated drinking pleasure.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: silky, light, red-berried bouquet, red cherries, currants, old wood. Slim, light palate with little aromatics, bourgeois structure, dry finish.

Silky, light, red-berried bouquet with red cherries, redcurrants, old wood. Slender, light palate with little aromatics, bourgeois structure, dry finish. 15/20 2024 - 2032

The 2020 Lanessan is deep garnet-purple in color. It springs from the glass with notions of redcurrants, kirsch, and baked plums, plus hints of Provence herbs and Ceylon tea. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is refreshing and light on its feet with delicate flavors and an herbal lift on the finish.

Refined, elegant nose with fairly bright fruit. The wine’s power bursts on the palate, still marked by well-present tannins. Yet you sense that once they’ve integrated, the texture will turn silky, with graceful balance and impressive length. The finish, all finesse, stretches into delicate bitters.

The wine has a deep ruby color. It is reserved at first and benefits from aeration. The nose shows a savory yet refined spicy side (notes of clove, licorice, grey pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, and coriander), wrapped in juicy, concentrated fruit: notably wild strawberry, raspberry, morello cherry, blackcurrant, blackberry, wild plum, and roasted red cherry. There is also a delicate floral bouquet (violet, peony, cornflower) and a subtle herbal touch (dried mint, blackcurrant bud). The palate offers concentration and depth with elegance. It delivers notes of wild strawberry, roasted red cherry, raspberry coulis, redcurrant jelly, fresh blackcurrant, wild blackberry, and morello cherry, allied to nuances of dried mint, violet, cornflower, as well as an elegant woody and spicy edge (licorice, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, toasted hazelnut, and cocoa). The tannins are well-structured, silky, and fine. The finish brings bright acidity, persistence, and gourmandise. Good aging potential.

With a deep garnet color, the wine opens with aromas of blackcurrant and licorice, subtly supported by notes of vanilla and coffee. The palate is fresh with tension. Red-fruit notes return, with volume that fades quickly on the finish.

A wine with a rigid body and little flavor.