Le Prieure 2020 (750ML)

96 VM / 95 WCI / 93-95 WA / 94 JA / 94 FS / 94 DE / 93 JS / 93 JD / 17 JR

The 2020 Le Prieuré is so elegant and nuanced. As always, readers will find a Saint-Émilion built on linear intensity and vibrancy more than size. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, mocha and crushed rocks are all beautifully delineated. The clean, intensely mineral finish is absolutely striking. This is such a gorgeous wine-Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

The nose with its blend of crushed rocks and flowers wakes up your nose. On the palate, the wine is even better with its flashy display of minerality, fresh, ripe, cherries, silky tannins and long, expansive finish, which showcases the purity in the fruit. Drink from 2025-2050.-Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider

The 2020 Le Prieure is a blend of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, with 14.3% alcohol. It is aging for an anticipated 16 months in French oak barriques, 35% new. Deep purple-black colored, it needs a little swirling and coaxing to reveal fragrant notes of lilacs, underbrush and sandalwood over a core of Morello cherries and plum preserves, plus a waft of woodsmoke. The medium to full-bodied palate has beautiful energy and tension, featuring layers of juicy red and black fruits with a plush texture, finishing long and perfumed. What a stunner! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

This is a lovely wine, sculpted and precise, with a fine but confident tannic frame, filled with blueberry and raspberry fruit, and a saline sting (my words En Primeur, and I absolutely stand by them now it is in bottle). Penolope Godefroy technical director at this 6.2ha estate, Vincent Millet director, Jean Claude Berrouet consultant. This was the year that saw the handover from Artemis Domaines to Arkea. 30hl/ha, organic winemaking.-Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Dark ruby, purple reflections, brightening on the rim. Cherries, sea buckthorn, tangerine zest, hints of herbs and liquorice. Taut, mineral, red wild berries, fine tannins, good freshness, delicate fruit expression on the finish. Remains well lasting with light nougat on the back palate, has gained good volume, shows development and ageing potential.-Peter Moser, Falstaff

Textured with depth to the hawthorn, raspberry and blackberry fruit that travels down several layers. The frame is drenched with juicy and taut limestone minerality, with almost a juniper and saline sting. Hard to argue with the quality here. First year with new owners, Suravenir of Calon-Ségur, Penelope Godefroy is still the winemaker. A yield of 30hl/ha, organic winemaking. - Jane Anson, Decanter

Aromas of ripe dark fruit, crushed walnuts, chocolate and overturned earth. Medium- to full-bodied, structured and meaty. It has firm tannins and a polished texture. Ripe yet fresh with a crunchy fruit character and creamy finish. From organically grown grapes. Try after 2024. - James Suckling

Ripe Bing cherries, plums, spicy oak, and incense notes emerge from the 2020 Château Le Prieure, a medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, seamless 2020 with building tannins and top-notch purity. This exotic, complex 2020 needs 4-5 years to integrate its tannins and should cruise over the following decade. - Jeb Dunnuck