Pessac-Léognan & Graves 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

The best 2020s seem to be confident without showing off or shouting too loudly and this Carmes does just that. Focused and precise, this is complex and characterful, rich yet vibrant with a texture and taste that makes an impact straight away. Fresh black fruits, floral notes and sensational minerality do the talking - it has weight, density and structure - broad and bold yet svelte, it has direction and persistence, building quickly then settling and elongating with such clarity and purity. This is a wine you want to drink. Cool, classic, sharp and decisive with a flawless texture. Whereas 2019 was more generous, this is more classic and easy to understand. An excellent job - seemingly effortless winemaking in 2020 - and a bottle that is sure to be emptied pretty quickly.

Vivid dark purple in the glass, but a remarkable clarity too. Fragrant black cherries, plums, cassis and perfumed aromas with blueberries, balsamic touches and white pepper. Rich, round, grippy and captivating, slightly plush but also tight, where you get a soft chalky, wet stone grip with lively acidity balanced by strict and spiced liquorice-touched fruit. You feel the leanness here but it's so well defined with clarity and precision. A sleeping giant right now, definitely not yet fully expressing itself but slowly grows to a long finish. There's something so utterly seductive about this wine, it's overt, forward, upfront, confident and powerful no doubt, this will need a while before it should be opened, but it’s a shining thoroughbred. Refined and purposeful. There’s a bit of magic in this bottle.

Almost wild on the nose, aromatic and expressive, you can tell this is a powerful, concentrated wine with dark fruits, graphite, fresh mint and medicinal herbal touches. Pure and focused, clean, lean and multifaceted, the flavours hit the palate then melt away, giving the floor to liquorice, cedar, tobacco and soft clove spices. I love the sleekness and the sense of seriousness that the 2020 has compared to the more 'look at me' 2019 at this point. The texture and depth make this wine, with vertical layers and excellent acidity. A profound wine.

Concentrated and persistent. This remains quite tight overall with clear power, push and generosity of ripe blackcurrants, fragrant black cherries, blueberries, liquorice, cocoa powder, clove and wet stone. The acidity and oak keep the elements all very centred but there’s no denying this is a statuesque wine that will need time to come around. Vivid, full and well framed.

Layered elegance and savoury tobacco and blackcurrant – the château’s hallmark. It’s a textbook expression of the appellation, and one of the best of the 2020 Pessac-Léognans. Spring rains helped the vines weather the hot, dry summer and preserved the wine’s bright freshness. The estate is cru classé for both red and white, but in this vintage I prefer the red.

Dark blackcurrant on the nose, really speaking of the Cabernet Sauvignon with medicinal herbal touches too, mint, bramble and dark chocolate. Very gently chewy, such a subtle bounce to the palate with the ripe fruit coming through giving the density while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives the strength, the structure and the backbone. It expands outwards, penetrating the sides of the mouth but retaining a sense of refinement. It doesn't feel like it's been overworked, there's tension but nothing harsh. Structured and serious but also there's lots of life with great acidity and a mouthfilling crushed stone texture. Really delicious and I love the outward freshness. A lovely Petit in 2020 that will also age well. Serious but captivating. Ageing 14 months, 15-20% new oak

Dark chocolate, bramble fruits, some perfumed notes, exotic spices, liquorice, cedar and clove, but floral too. Supple and charming on the palate, not so lively and openly expressive at this point, a bit more knitted down, quiet and calm but a lovely texture. Tannis are fine but just chalky giving the grip and width while the dark fruit has both a red and black tang to it, just restricted a little by the oaky edges, subtle as they are in terms of flavour, it just narrows the expression a little. You can feel the concentration in the lingering flavour on the cheeks and again a touch of heat and wood spice on the finish. Good acidity with a lightness of touch despite the depth of flavour. Well worked with a long finish.

Tannic heft from the get-go, though this does have a lovely fresh, clean and precise core with a narrow, focused frame so the elements come across as quite tight and severe right now but well worked. It has class, no doubt, on the high-toned scale, potent and upfront but there's gorgeous detail and precision to the fruit, acidity and tannins. Slick and classy with lots of glamour that plays to the strengths of the vintage.

Fresh and ripe dark fruits on the nose, smells lively. Clean and clear, a sleek and smooth texture. Tense still with a streamlined core of firm and well defined tannins. The fruit elements have depth though giving a verticality of flavours which is lovely but this is still quite coiled and reserved for now. Lovely succulence and grip, a stony minerality balances the ripe, softly chewy blackcurrant and black cherry. Lifted, fresh and clean finish. Some gorgeous detail and nuance here, will be absolutely delicious in a few years.

Smells rich with perfumed blackcurrants. Clean and crisp on the palate, a smooth and silky texture but with crunchy and bright, almost sharp fruit - dark cherries, plums and figs edged with a chalky, minerality. Clearly charming, this is succulent, supple and so easy to like with excellent drinkability. Refreshing and totally moreish. 3.6pH. Ageing 30% new oak, 60% foudre (30-50hl), 10% amphoras. 35% whole bunch.

Sweet and aromatic fresh black fruits and flowers on the nose. Sensual and nicely round on the palate, this has body and nuance with crunchy fruit that have a lovely almost sour tang to it, vibrant and vivid. Still has quite a dark, almost sombre core, brooding with liquorice and slate giving the dark tone as well as blackcurrant and black plum fruit. Feels sculpted though, gently muscular with power and precision. I really like this. You could drink this straight away such is the balance and overall flavour profile but it’ll age well. Impressive with lovely texture, weight and length.

Such a perfumed nose of roses and violet-edged blackcurrants and plums. Fragrant and alluring. Also bright and floral on the palate, really quite marked with nuance and detail. Lovely expression, it’s not super-ripe or in your face, more delicate yet still quite dark with lots of sticky liquorice and cinnamon edges. Cool, crushed stone element gives freshness and expanse. Really quite juicy, though also lean on the palate. Not hugely wide, more vertical in depth, with tons of freshness, mintiness and spice however, the acidity is there and the tannins are fine. Just remains quite focused and sleek with a cool blue fruit edge and lots of salty minerality that lingers on the finish. Well worked, needs more time.

Gorgeous intensity of aromatics on the nose, really so full and alive full of blackcurrant, black cherry and roses. Intense on the palate, straight away a wave of ripe and juicy, aimost tart fruit hits the tongue but edged by a soft creaminess that counters the acidity and gives a roundness to the expression. Still lightly framed, the tannins are not plush, this is more linear and straight at the moment, the oak giving it tension and narrowing the focus overall. But it’s superbly well worked with the best juicy core. Really soft, velvety tannins too giving a crushed stone, powdery element to the finish. Still feels extremely youthful but this will be delicious in a few years. Easy enjoyment.