2020 Charmail
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Tasting notes
Cru bourgeois exceptionnel. 36% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 16% Petit Verdot, on clayey gravels. Yield 40 hl/ha. 85% is aged for 12 months in barrels (55% new wood) and 15% in concrete eggs. 120,000 bottles. Smells very neat and ‘just so’. Really ripe but fresh with lively, appetising fruit. No excess tannin but some structure. Leaves the palate very much refreshed. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Full bottle 1,202 g. Blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Hand-picked. Good to see so many of these Bordeaux producers using lightweight glass. Unusually, a deep-red-cherry nose. Plenty of friendly fruit with equally friendly chalkiness in the tannic texture. Very fresh, lightly green-peppery and napeta minty, something very slightly floral – bluebells? Approachable. (TC)
Forest floor, earthy red fruits, flowers, and spice come through easily on the nose, and on the medium-bodied, lifted, savory, soft, round, earthy currant-filled palate. Drink from 2023-2040.
I always enjoy the wines from this château, and their 2020 Château Charmail is up-front and forward, with beautiful red and black fruits as well as some spicy, dried tobacco, and subtle oak aromas and flavors. Based on 40% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, raised in one-third new barrels, one-third used oak, and one-third concrete eggs, this medium to full-bodied, balanced, rock-solid Haut-Médoc is perfect for drinking any time over the coming 10-15 years.