Pauillac 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

The appellation was extremely marked by the hot weather and drought conditions creating – in general – small but juicy berries with thick skins and high levels of tannins. Although there was large variability in grape size within vineyards let alone across the entire appellation with localised rainfall in April and August causing heterogeneity.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac 2020 in-bottle wines

Pauillac saw an average yield of 37.4hl/ha in 2020, lower than 2018 at 38.5hl/ha and 2019 at 46.7hl/ha.

Like other appellations in the Médoc the winter was mild and rainy, with a warm February and tropical spring with rain storms in March causing an uneven and protracted budbreak. April was hot and May entered the record books for the fourth warmest month in more than eighty years. Flowering was early, June was cool and rainy and August was dry and warm with several heatwaves causing drought situations on non-water retentive soils.

Some estates saw over 100mm of rain in August – much needed for thirsty grapes, though others saw only a few mm, again causing varied results. An early harvest – one of the earliest on record – with mostly dry and warm weather until the middle of September.

‘We picked everything in good conditions’ said Jean-Charles Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages. ‘The wines have good freshness, not overripe, bold but still refreshing with good acidity. It’s a vintage for the long haul’. 2020 was the first vintage in brand new cellar facilities at Lynch-Bages – an addition to the 2020 label – with gravity feeding installed to ‘respect the fruit’ as well as doubling the number of vinification tanks and therefore doubling the number of samples available during blending. The 2020 Lynch-Bages is one of my favourite wines of the vintage with such purity, energy and control on show.

For Nicolas Glumineau, director of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 2ème Cru Classé, 2020 was all about strategic decisions and vineyard management.

‘First we had to deal with critical disease pressure during the spring, though fortunately summer was perfect. Then everything was about the strategy during the harvest – we had the choice to hurry to rush and finish the harvest before the forecast rain or to wait and see and to leave the Cabernet out in order for the tannins to become more silky. We chose to wait and it worked out well for us’.

Similarly at Lafite, ‘2020 will be remembered as one of those good winegrowers’ vintages, where you had to observe, change your mind ten times and where you could never be right on your own. It promised to be an extremely early vintage. It ended up just being ‘early’, with magnificent densities but without the spike we had feared. A vintage of contrasts…and of teamwork!’.

In terms of vintage comparisons, Glumineau said: ‘2019 and 2020 are close in quality, a step up from 2018 for sure. Like 2009 and 2010, I really love 2020 – it has depth, minerality and a verticality and, as for Pichon, the further we get with biodynamics the more it shows. 2020, more than 2019, has a true expression of what biodynamics can make’.

Top 14 Pauillac 2020 wines:

Château Mouton Rothschild, (1er Cru Classé) 100 points

Château Lafite Rothschild, (1er Cru Classé) 99 points

Château Latour, (1er Cru Classé) 99 points

Château Lynch-Bages, (5ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Pichon Baron, (2ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, (2ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Batailley, (5ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Duhart-Milon, (4ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Haut-Bages Libéral, (5ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Pontet-Canet, (5ème Cru Classé) 97 points

Château Haut-Batailley, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points

Château Batailley, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points

Château Haut-Bages Libéral, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points

Château Pontet-Canet, (5ème Cru Classé) 96 points [/breakout]

SCORE TABLE: top-scoring 349 wines with 92 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

St-Estèphe 2020 | Margaux 2020 | St-Julien 2020| Pomerol 2020 | Pessac & Graves 2020 | St-Emilion 2020 |

See all Bordeaux 2020 in-bottle wines in score order

See tasting notes and scores for the top Pauillac 2020 in-bottle wines

The following wines all scored 94 points or above. 

Related articles

• Bordeaux 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines