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

Complicated weather conditions tested winemakers in the vineyards and cellars in Pessac and Graves in 2020 with a mainly dry and warm growing season saved by crucial rains in August.

The vintage produced structured, supple and generous red wines by producers who picked at the right time and exhibited a light touch in the winery. The best white wines have ripe, exotic fruit touches balanced by freshness and crisp acidity.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pessac-Léognan & Graves 2020 in-bottle wines

Average yields for Pessac-Léognan in 2020 were 34.6hl/ha, lowers than 2018 at 36.9hl/ha and 2019 at 47.2hl/ha with a 10-year-average of 40.5hl/ha.

A rainy winter was followed by a warm but also rainy spring giving the appellation historic amounts of water between March and June. Winemakers also had to battle frosts at the end of March with two days of extreme cold. The weather then turned extremely warm and dry, although saw heavy rain in the beginning of May. Flowering started early and by mid-June the temperatures rose becoming hot, sunny and dry.

Drought conditions were brought on with highs of 40 degrees celsius and no rain between July and August. Fortunately water arrived between 11-13 August although it was almost 50% less than received in the Médoc. Harvests started early with white grapes coming in at the end of August and the reds beginning in early September.

For Véronique Sanders president of Château Haut-Bailly, 2020 ‘was a fantastic year quality wise’ where they ‘focussed on the vintage in a crazy way’.

‘We had extreme conditions – the weather ups and downs, lockdowns, two nights of frost. It was tough, we had to work quickly. There was mildew pressure, a closure of the bunches from drought, heat spikes and thunderstorms, but in the end we got the rain we wanted and it turned out to be a great vintage’.

‘It was about vigilance and reactivity,’ Sanders said with ‘the key words for us being determination and tenacity – and the passion of the team’.

In terms of comparisons, Sanders says 2018 is ‘concentrated, dense and with low yields’, 2019 has ‘beautiful elegance’ reminding her of 2009 where ‘every single lot was good and the blend was easy’ while 2020 is ‘a mix of both – with density, power, elegance and approachability’.

At Château Les Carmes Haut Brion, winemaker and general manager Guillaume Pouthier said with the maturity and ripeness of the fruit in 2020 the key was getting the extraction right. ‘You want a powerful wine but also to increase the drinkability of that wine. You want it to be finished.

‘The tannins make a good or great wine. In the best vintages at top estates you want nice round tannins from the beginning in tougher vintages they’re more angular and will need more time to soften’, he said.

In general 2020 saw higher alcohols than 2021 but lower than 2018 and 2019 although they stuck out at some estates, something Carmes mitigated with 55% whole bunch fermentation bringing the final ABV to 13.5% compared to 14.5% and even 15% other properties.

Top 8 Pessac-Léognan & Graves 2020 wines:

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 100 points

Château Smith Haut Lafitte 98 points

Château Haut-Brion 97 points

Château Haut-Bailly 97 points

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 96 points

Château Smith Haut Lafitte 96 points

Domaine de Chevalier 96 points

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte 96 points

Château Couhins 95 points

Château Couhins-Lurton, Blanc 95 points

Château Haut-Brion, Blanc 95 points

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 95 points

Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc 95 points

Château Pape Clément 95 points

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| Pauillac 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 Pessac-Léognan & Graves 2020 in-bottle wines

The following wines all scored 94 points or above. 

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