After tasting more than 1,200 Rhône 2020 en primeur samples, Matt Walls has given his full verdict on the new vintage.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the top 110 wines all with 95 points or above.
| Producer | Appellation | Vintage | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Château Rayas | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 99 | This has more length and breadth than most 2020 white Châteauneufs, with spiced citrus notes of satsuma and grapefruit decorated with cinnamon. Broad but not overly full-bodied, with bright acidity, tension and a tight mineral line. Long on the finish, with balanced alcohol, ending on pink grapefruit. A beautifully fine and fresh vintage of Rayas blanc. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 98 | Closed for now, with apricot and a touch of crème anglaise. Full-bodied but not massive, this has plenty of tension that keeps things neat, a shining beam of acidity running through it. Real length and intensity here, it's remarkably saline this year, displaying great power and balance. 80% Roussanne, 10% Grenache Blanc and Clairette, 10% Piquepoul Blanc, Picardan and Bourboulenc. Part of the blend was matured in two and three-year-old barriques for one year. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2036. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel, Roussanne Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 98 | Beautiful clarity and definition of aroma. Certainly rounded but not massive, this has a great mouthfeel; so fresh and full of energy, with perfectly balanced acidity - you don't have to look for it, it comes at you. Lovely tension, intensity and salinity, the oak so well-integrated you barely notice it, and there's no toastiness, just notes of cedar, tobacco and cinnamon and a long finish. Not a hugely rich vintage, but a hugely fresh and energetic one. They've started to pick a little earlier and are now leaving the juice on the skins for three to four hours in the press. The wine spends one year in new barriques and demi-muids. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2036. Click to see full details | |
| Château La Nerthe, Clos de Beauvenir | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 98 | Violets, quince, yellow plums and honeysuckle on the nose. Rounded, seductive, but not overly fat, this is tucked in and restrained on the palate, with perfectly measured acidity and perfectly integrated oak. Great sense of harmony and balance, it shows Burgundian finesse and a long finish. Organically grown on sandy soils in the Clos de Beauvoir near the house, fermented in demi-muid and stainless steel, then aged for seven months in demi-muid, with 15% spending seven months in new barriques. 1,300 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Monteillet, La Grillette | Condrieu | 2020 | 98 | Great salinity and tension here, even more noticeable acidity than his Chanson. Fleshy, keen, focused, very long. Straight, intense Condrieu. Stéphane Montez says the cuvée is called La Grillette because it always has 'grilled notes (grillé), and notes of violet (violette)'. However it does so happen to border Château-Grillet! Drinking Window: 2023 - 2037. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JL Chave | Hermitage | 2020 | 98 | The 2020 vintage is 'an amazing surprise', according to Jean-Louis Chave. 'It's like the vines adapted to the heat of the vintage - so it's full of hope for me.' A tasting of the different lieux-dits confirms that although this is a hot, dry vintage, the whites have a great sense of freshness, balance and vivacity. This doesn't have the same sense of power and extract as the 2017 or 2019; it is slimmer and more precise, will offer a lot of pleasure early on and will age well, too. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2045. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, De l’Orée | Hermitage | 2020 | 98 | The nose is quite savoury, almond is the presiding aroma, with apple and quince in the background. It has the roundness of De l'Orée but without excessive opulence - this vintage is a little straighter than some. Well-balanced, with a more clearly visible mineral line than a classic vintage of this cuvée, which can be veiled by intense richness when young. Fresh, balanced, more thirst-quenching than a typical De l'Orée, its propensity to opulence slightly tempered. I think this works particularly well this year. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2045. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, L'Ermite | Hermitage | 2020 | 98 | Plenty of richness on the palate and all the intense mineral facets you would expect from L'Ermite, both on the nose and the palate. Intensely fresh, driving, tense and salty. The oak is very present in this sample, but it's integrated nicely. I love the steely, uncompromising texture of this wine, it's edginess just tempered by the glycerol softness. Very direct and long, if not as long as some recent vintages. Aromatically this has abundant meadow flowers at this early stage. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2052. Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Papes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | Citrusy and grapefruit-led thanks to the Bourboulenc. Touch of anise, touch of fennel, lovely acidity and freshness, with a gentle saline line. Generous but only just full-bodied, this shows liveliness and more depth than many white Châteauneufs this year. Long finish. No malolactic and no oak use. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Beaurenard, Boisrenard | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with plenty of extract on the palate. Driving acidity and a powerful finish suggest this has a long life ahead of it. It's delicious now, however, in a big and bold - but dry - style with a saline finish. Also contains 10% Grenache Blanc, and 1% each of Clairette Rose, Grenache Gris, Picardan, Picpoul Blanc and Picpoul Gris. Biodynamic, fermented and aged in foudres and old barriques. 6,000 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2036. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Monteillet, Chanson | Condrieu | 2020 | 97 | Florality, citrus and fleshy stone fruit flavours. It's got a lovely mineral expression, perfect balance, great acidity and a long finish. What more could you ask for? 22 months of maturation in demi-muid (with a small percentage of new oak) in order to ready the wine for long ageing in bottle. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Les Vieilles Vignes de Jacques Vernay | Condrieu | 2020 | 97 | On the nose alone, this is clearly something special. Great intensity on the palate, it's focused and deeply saline. Concentrated, very fresh, with great energy and precision. Moderate alcohol and balanced acidity. To be released on the market in two years. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Alain Jaume & Fils, La Fontaine | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Honeycomb, jasmine, cinnamon and rich pear. Intense and tangy, this has driving acidity and powerful spice. Will be a very good wine when it's ready, in a oak-driven style, as it's crisp, clear and defined, with a saline touch to the palate that helps to balance everything. North-facing Roussanne planted on clay limestone. Fermented and matured for 10 months in barriques, 50% new, 50% one-year-old. 4,000 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| André Perret, Chéry | Condrieu | 2020 | 96 | This Chéry cuvée certainly has greater aromatic intensity than André's cuvée classique. It's very well balanced and vibrant, with surprising concentration on the palate. Lovely, bright acidity and a mineral touch leads to a long finish. A very promising Chéry at this stage. 20% new oak. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Clos de la Bonnette, Légende Bonnetta | Condrieu | 2020 | 96 | With a clean, fresh and aerial style, this is softly generous and juicy but not excessively full-bodied. Beautifully balanced acidity, it's soft and flowing. A natural, poetic style of Condrieu that's perfectly balanced, not as powerful as 2019 but so beautiful and classic. Just a touch on the light side perhaps, but so good. One year in 228-litre ex-Viognier or ex-Chardonnay barrels, at least two wines old. No enzymes added, a little battonage, malolactic completed, no fining, with some filtration just to remove the larger particles. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2025. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Janasse, Prestige | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Not terribly expressive on the nose, but long and focused. The oak works as a tight corset, shaping the wine and pulling in any excess weight. Remarkably fresh and vibrant, with a tight mineral seam and a little dab of fresh cream on the long finish, alongside fresh pear and nutmeg. Try to keep this for a while before opening, until at least 2025. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Monteillet, Candice | Condrieu | 2020 | 96 | A delicious, sweet Condrieu, with lemon posset and lemon curd notes. Full-bodied but with firm, balancing acidity. Three passes through the vineyard in October and November to pick the grapes. The alcoholic fermentation finished naturally, leaving 60g/L of residual sugar, so about half that of a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, for example. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2028. Click to see full details | |
| E Guigal, Ex-Voto | Hermitage | 2020 | 96 | This is looking very good, it's very oaky for sure, but there's good intensity and vibrancy. Long and with no excess alcohol, it's nicely balanced beneath the oak, but it will always be dominated by it. 80% lieu-dit Les Murets (20-year-old and 60-year-old vines), 20% L'Ermite. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| François Villard, DePoncins | Condrieu | 2020 | 96 | Full-bodied, with quite noticeable oak at this stage. Wonderful sense of freshness, however, and great precision. Long, lush and generous yet defined, this is a very classic Condrieu in all its resplendent flamboyance. Cooling almond and coconut on the finish. From 25-year-old Viognier grown on granite soils in the villages of Chavanay and Vérin, fermented at low temperatures with indigenous yeasts. Spends 11 months in barrel, one third new, six months of which sees weekly lees stirring. Tasted non-blind. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2031. Click to see full details | |
| François Villard, Le Grand Vallon | Condrieu | 2020 | 96 | Plenty of rich, ripe apricot and peach fruit, with lemon thyme and lemon verbena. Not overly full-bodied, this is more measured on the palate than some, well-tailored, with plenty of salty extract and scintillating acidity. With such a long finish, it's exceptional this year. Aged in oak barriques, 35% new. Tasted non-blind. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| La Bastide St-Dominique, Chapelle | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Always just a little more muskily floral than Clairette Blanche, this 100% Clairette Rose has a beautiful aroma that finds itself on the palate, too, among freshly cut pear and quince, before enjoyable precision and salinity on the finish. Vines planted on sandy soils and galets roulés in lieux-dits Pignan and Saint Georges. Fermented in one-year-old barriques and stainless steel. 800 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2026. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Le Méal | Hermitage | 2020 | 96 | Almond, quince and a touch of rhubarb at this early stage; you sense the ripeness, but it's not exotically fruity in 2020. The silkiness and glycerol on the palate are quite present, this sample shows plentiful oak, lending matchstick and cashew to the finish. An elegant vintage of Le Méal. Well-balanced, far from massive, not as powerful or concentrated as the past few vintages, this will drink well young and age into the medium term. Not a hugely-long lived Méal I suspect, but a delightful one nonetheless. There is generous alcohol, but it’s not unbalanced. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Pierre Jean Villa, Jardin Suspendu | Condrieu | 2020 | 96 | Now this is good - it has serious fruit intensity, which helps to find balance when placed with the seriously rich, fulsome palate. It has freshness, length and intensity; a very good, classic Condrieu. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Fonsalette | Côtes du Rhône | 2020 | 95 | Citrus oils and ripe apricot. Lighter and fresher than recent vintages, with good acidity and a bright mineral line. Grapefruit bitters on the finish. A property close to the Massif d'Uchaux, north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, owned by Emmanuel Reynaud of Château Rayas. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2027. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Nalys, Grand Vin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | The oak is present and integrated but not excessive and it doesn't rub out the fine definition and terroir expression. Long and straight, this is bold but drinkable, with a good sense of fluidity and freshness to the wine, but enough salt and extract to age well. The wines from Nalys are improving quickly, which is not surprising given the quality of the terroir: Bois Sénéchaux, la Crau and Grand Pierre. Fermented and aged in a variety of sizes of oak barrel, including 18% new oak. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Château-Grillet | Château-Grillet | 2020 | 95 | Noticeably more oak than their Condrieu (10% new oak here), but this should settle - the score assumes that it will. Rounded, a touch of bubblegum to the jasmine and coconut fruits. Distinctly more saline than the other two wines in the range, it's voluminous but not heavy, with less alcohol than recent years, making for a nicely balanced vintage. Doesn't have the concentration and intensity of some recent vintages, but a very drinkable vintage of Château-Grillet with a long finish showing plentiful oak spice. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2028. Click to see full details | |
| Château-Grillet, La Carthery | Condrieu | 2020 | 95 | Good concentration of white peach, this is rounded but not overly fat. It has more complexity, better balance and better acidity than their Côtes-du-Rhône - a big step up. Gentle, easy sweetness to the fruit. A very fine, well-balanced Condrieu. Compact and finishing on subtle peach and yellow plum notes. Made from a few rows of Viognier in AOC Condrieu that are situated at the top of the Château-Grillet amphitheatre and owned until recently by another producer. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2024. Click to see full details | |
| Christophe & Maryline Billon, Les Matisses | Condrieu | 2020 | 95 | Jasmine and meadow flowers, this is an aerial and very attractive style of Condrieu. Full-bodied, but not gloopy. The acidity is well-balanced. Good intensity and pleasingly dry, despite the intensity of sweet fruit on the tongue. Finger lime on the mid-palate, lime leaf on the long finish. From lieu-dit La Caille, which is south and south-west facing, this was fermented then matured in barriques. 1,200 bottles made. Not expensive for a Condrieu of this quality. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine André Mathieu, Vin di Felibre | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Pretty and classically floral expression - like daffodils - with fennel fronds adding to the freshness. Full-bodied but nonetheless moves fast in the mouth, with good acidity and a noble, bitter grapefruit finish. Precise, vibrant and enjoyably drinkable. Grown on galets roulés, fermented and aged for 10 months in demi-muids and barriques, 25% new. 900 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2027. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Belle | Hermitage | 2020 | 95 | The nose is compelling - crushed almond, lilies, pear - just gorgeous. Rolling, generous juiciness on the palate, but a firm beam of acidity underneath. This has concentration but no excess fat, alcohol or oak - it's well-balanced and has great freshness. Fermented then matured in oak (75% new) for 20 months. 1,500 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Vin de la Solitude | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Florent Lançon has started using more solids in the juice for his whites and the results justify this decision. Quite closed and introspective for now, the oak is very tight around the wine, but there's great freshness within. Straight and focused, showing tobacco, pear and cedar, this will take time to come round, but should be good and age well when it's ready. Very impressive for a first vintage. 1,200 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Marcoux | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Eminently classic, full-bodied and rich, with flowing fresh mango and pear fruit. The alcohol is quite high, and contributes to the feeling of opulence. Slow moving in the mouth, there's enough acidity, however, and a good feeling of freshness. Deep, long, voluptuous style. Somehow finishes fresh and neat despite the richness. An embarrassment of richness in this bottle. From lieux-dits Les Bosquets and Les Esqueirons, fermented and matured for nine months in demi-muids and stainless steel. 3,600 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Gonon, Les Oliviers | St-Joseph | 2020 | 95 | Vibrant nectarine notes on the nose, you just know this is going to have some tangy acidity on the palate even before you taste it. Medium-bodied, not quite so opulent this year, a touch of citrus flavour and snappy, citrusy acidity. Rich mango on the palate, it's mineral and long, with great cut and precision. There is a touch of glycerol roundness on the finish. Great balance here this year. Fermented in fûts and old barriques, it also spends a year on the lees. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2028. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Laurent Habrard, Les Rocoules | Hermitage | 2020 | 95 | A fresh, floral style, relatively light for a white Hermitage. It has a remarkable mineral seam on the palate however, which, with the tense acidity, makes for a refreshing and piercing style. Long, slender, tapered finish. An elegant wine, very well-balanced. it's fermented in stainless steel, then spends a year in one to three-year-old barriques. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Les Diognières | Hermitage | 2020 | 95 | Almond nougat, dried pear and fresh quince. This has serious intensity and minerality on the palate, with pinpoint acidity. Plenty of glycerol but no gloopiness, this is upright, searching and bright. A 0.18ha plot of 70-year-old Marsanne at the foot of the Hermitage slope. Malolactic was completed. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Niero, Héritage | Condrieu | 2020 | 95 | Orange blossom and subtle lime hints over apricot fruit. It's silky with plenty of glycerol fat on the palate. Good acidity and a subtle saline seam. The oak is well-integrated and there's some length here - if this continues to take on weight it could be very good indeed. A selection of the best barrels and tanks of the domaine. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2028. Click to see full details | |
| E Guigal, La Doriane | Condrieu | 2020 | 95 | Full-bodied and very rich, but there's plenty of salinity to balance the oak work, which is robust but very high quality. Fresh and drinkable already, as flamboyant as ever and with a long finish. From lieux-dits Chatillon, Chéry, Vernon, Colombier and Château de Vallon in Malleval (where soils are granite with iron oxide). 100% new oak barriques. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Ferraton Père & Fils, Les Miaux | Hermitage | 2020 | 95 | Beautifully perfumed, so pure, with a floating floral aroma. Apricot and pear on the palate, this has power, definition and a focused, long, tapered finish with an intensely saline, mineral skein. Typically a well-priced Hermitage cuvée and the quality is very good this year. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Le Clos du Caillou, Les Safres | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Full-bodied and richly opulent on the palate, the acidity is gently vibrant and there's some energy in the wine which helps bring balance. Plentiful pear and quince fruit, with a long finish. Grown on the sandy soils of Pignan and Les Bédines, fermented and matured in old barriques. 2,500 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2028. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JP Jamet, Côte Brune | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 99 | Beautifully fragrant and floral, showing rose and violet characters. Super-fine, silky tannins and lovely acidity, this is an eminently classic Côte Brune, with flowers, cinnamon, black olive, rosemary and perfectly ripe, bright blackberries. It has a tapered finish - not the same concentration and power as 2019 - but with great finesse and elegance of expression. Beautifully balanced and very hard to fault. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2050. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Rostaing, La Côte Brune | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 99 | A compelling rose fragrance, then such wonderfully rounded, juicy tannins in the mouth. Perfectly balanced and fresh, but explosive, long, flamboyant and captivating, with pliable, springy tannins. What a stunning wine. Picked on the 26th august. It had four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak (limited new oak), fermented with natural yeasts and with as many stems as possible. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2038. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Le Pavillon | Hermitage | 2020 | 99 | This has that tell-tale touch of soy to the plum and blackcurrant fruit so reminiscent of this cuvée. Fluid and juicy on the palate, this has great intensity and salinity without feeling heavy or overripe. Plenty of sweet, ripe tannin and balanced acidity. Only medium-bodied, there's a touch of pepperiness on the finish, great freshness, harmony and balance. Sometimes a wine seems a bit too easy, a bit too effortless, and it can lull you into a sense that it lacks seriousness; this wine tries to do that, but I'm not inclined to underestimate it. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2052. Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Papes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 98 | A very Clos des Papes vintage,' says Vincent Avril, and I know what he means - a vintage that naturally delivers the kind of fresh, elegant wines that this estate is famous for. A tasting of several foudres point to a wine with natural, easy balance. The Mourvèdre is excellent here this year, and adds great depth to the fresh and delightful Grenache that has notes of black tea, black cherry and iron. Elegant and very fine. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Janasse, Chaupin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 98 | Full-bodied, generous in fruit and glycerol. The tannins and acidity seem to meld together into a single vertebral column. The alcohol is present, lending sweetness rather than heat. Remarkably elegant for a wine of these dimensions, with great, rising, upright flavours and structure. This is a very special wine with a long finish. Parcels of Grenache planted on lieux-dits Chapouin, La Janasse and La Crau, the oldest planted in 1912. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2038. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JL Chave | Hermitage | 2020 | 98 | What you find in the whites, you find in the reds,' says Jean-Louis Chave, alluding to the natural freshness and balance in the 2020 Hermitage lieux-dits. This shows a good sense of finesse, with discreet, elegant tannins and intensity without great power. It is a concentrated but restrained vintage of elegance and great precision. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2050. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Vincent Paris, La Geynale | Cornas | 2020 | 98 | A wine that fizzes and sparks with crackling berry fruits and dried herbs. Full-bodied but not massive in the mouth, this has soaring power and energy. Perfectly balanced, with searing, mouth-coating, super-fine tannin. A wine like a thunder crack that takes you by surprise, it shocks the palate. Long finish. This is an exceptional vintage for Vincent Paris. 100-year-old vines. No destemming. Five-day cold maceration, then fermented with wild yeasts. Twice daily remontage, no punching down, then aged for 16 months in two to eight-year-old barriques. Grown on the granite slopes of lieu-dit La Geynale, one of the finest of the appellation. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, L'Ermite | Hermitage | 2020 | 98 | Fresh, flinty aroma with blackcurrant underneath - an enlivening nose. Great harmony, incisive freshness and remarkable drive, the fruit is fresh, pure and concentrated. Totally seamless on the palate, with incredible textural finesse and length. A profound Hermitage in the making, perhaps not one of great weight and authority, but one of incredible tension, freshness and precision. If 2019 was Thor, 2020 is Loki. Like all of the 2020 reds, its fruitiness and approachable structure will make many want to drink this young. You can, but this has serious ageing potential. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2055. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Lancement | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 98 | Particularly compelling, this might be worthy of a higher score once bottled. Perfect acidity, great aromatic expression and amazing precision. Raspberry, olive and bay leaf, with a tremulous finish, this is a great expression of Lancement. Very special indeed, this is an elegant, beautiful wine. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel, Hommage à Jacques Perrin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | Closed for now, but very Mourvèdre in style: dense, dark and brooding. Great intensity but not as tannic as some vintages, showing lovely acidity, freshness and purity. This is a classic, compact and fresh style of Hommage, with great energy, plus endless length and depth. Around 60% of the blend comes from old vine Mourvèdre from their Courrieux vineyard. Grapes are destemmed, fermented in tronconic wooden vats using natural yeasts after a brief cold maceration, with regular punching down. Drinking Window: 2029 - 2048. Click to see full details | |
| Château Rayas | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | A tasting of the Coeur, Couchant and Levant parcels reveals a very classic vintage; light and feathery but with clarity and precision. Nonetheless, Emmanuel Reynaud believes it will be a vintage with a long life. It's particularly pale in colour this year, relatively light in body and tannic structure, too. There is a good sense of sucrosité at its heart, balanced with fresh acidity. A vintage of delicacy and charm rather than power. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2044. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Clape | Cornas | 2020 | 97 | A vibrant, focused and intense style of Cornas, a return to a classic style after the richness of 2018 and the power of 2019. Their Renaissance will be made this year, so both wines will need to be bottled before a more precise evaluation of each blend can be made, but the outlook is good. Whole-bunch fermented in unlined concrete tanks, matured in small old foudres. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2039. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, Réservé | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | Pure, lively black cherry, liquorice and violet; not huge in the mouth, but extraordinary concentration for the vintage. It's dense, with sweet tannins and great surging acidity. Clearly the alcohol is high, but you don't taste it as it's remarkably well-balanced, elegant, fine and incredibly intense: opulent without oak or artifice. Selection from Les Trois Sources, their oldest Grenache, and only produced when the Grenache is good enough. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2045. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Marcoux, Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | Impressive depth of colour for the vintage, this is extremely round, fresh, clear and well-defined. Tannins are present and fairly strict in style, but they're ripe, and all in all this is exceptionally promising. Not huge in fruit or body, but well-balanced and precise. from 120-year-old vines planted on north-facing clay and sand lieux-dits of Charbonnières and Esquières. Fermented in concrete, aged in foudre. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JP Jamet | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 97 | A combination of separate lieux-dits which show a classic, fresh and focused vintage, with each component reflecting its origins with great clarity. It's an aromatic style, with slight tannins and fairly low but balanced acidity. All whole-bunch fermented, matured mostly in old demi-muids. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Rostaing, La Viallière | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 97 | Beautifully detailed, floral, violet-scented nose; totally classic, tender and charming. Medium- to full-bodied, with cooling, fresh blackberry fruit. Super-fine, plentiful but elegant tannins and the little bitter kick is classic Viallière. This is exceptional and will provide a lot of pleasure. Four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak (limited new oak), with natural yeasts and as many stems as possible. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Saint Préfert, Colombis | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | Interesting and unusual aromatic display, with liquorice, dark chocolate, woody herbs, raspberry and a touch of spice. Generous and flowing on the palate, the acid is piercing, precise and there's plenty of textural interest. Promises to be complex and fascinating in time, and the wait shouldn't be too long. Largely sandy soils, a small lieu-dit to the west of the village. All fermented and aged in tronconic vats. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Yann Chave | Hermitage | 2020 | 97 | Introverted on the nose, but smooth and bold on the palate. A little more generosity and weight than some Hermitage this year, also slightly higher alcohol. Harmonious, with good acidity and integrated oak, it is detailed and defined on the palate. A large-framed but calm and collected wine with a good sense of purity and typicity, this is a serious Hermitage. Vines of nearly 50 years of age, grown organically on lieux-dits Beaumes and Péléat, matured in demi-muids with malolactic fermentation in barrel. Drinking Window: 2029 - 2043 Click to see full details | |
| E Guigal, Ex-Voto | Hermitage | 2020 | 97 | Fresh and dense, displaying great substance and depth. Robust oak work here and it's very tannic; a powerful, driving wine of great size and grandeur. Long and complete, it will swallow its oak in time I suspect. At the start of its 40 months in new oak barriques. Old vines from Les Bessards, Les Greffieux, L'Ermite and Les Murets. Drinking Window: 2032 - 2046. Click to see full details | |
| Rotem & Mounir Saouma, Amphore Bigot | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 97 | An experiment 'to see how people made wine in antiquity,' says Mounier Saouma. From lieu-dit Bois de la Ville, made in unwaxed clay amphora, whole clusters spending 12 months inside, then pressed to stainless steel for four months before bottling. Very cloudy, yet to be settled, it possesses liquorice and cherry, extraordinary tension, intensity, incredible freshness and texture. An early stage to make a judgement on the wine, but this looks very interesting indeed. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2033. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Bertholon | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 97 | Peppery rose aromas flow onto a seriously weighty, deep, rounded, powerful and dense palate. Muscular yet fresh, this is very similar to a classic Les Grandes Places in style. Lots of clay in this lieu-dit, which is only owned by Gaillard and Ogier. 80% whole bunch. Drinking Window: 2029 - 2039. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, La Belle Hélène | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 97 | Beautifully floral expression, bright acidity and great upright thrust. So juicy and powerful, but such finesse and lightness of touch, also. Big, driving, burly tannins and just a touch of raised alcohol peeping through, but this is forgivable given its excellence. Tannins still a touch green on the finish, but such a big, powerful and rich wine. 100% whole bunch from Côte Rozier. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2038. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Montmain | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 97 | From an old-vine parcel, this is peppery, fluid and fresh, showing bay leaf, rose and fine tannins. Not as powerful as his Champon or Bertholon, but elegant and complex. 100% whole bunch. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2035 Click to see full details | |
| Xavier Gérard | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 97 | Wonderfully fresh and expressive, with a touch of black pepper hiding among the menthol and deep, dark berry fruits. Medium- to full-bodied, this has stacks of rich, sweet berry fruit and driving acidity, then ends neat and precise. Very well-integrated oak brings a spicy complexity, but the site is more prominent than the method. Arguably not as deep as 2015, but this is nonetheless a hugely enjoyable wine. A blend of lieux-dits Le Mollard (near Côte-Blonde), La Viallière, La Brosse and La Landonne. Tasted non-blind. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Beaucastel | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Fresh and bright nose, then a palate with exceptionally smooth and fine tannins, lovely acidity and notes of blackberry and raspberry juice. Particularly fine, elegant and balanced this year. Grenache and Cinsault fermented in cement, Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in foudre. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Château de Fonsalette | Côtes du Rhône | 2020 | 96 | Spicy southern Syrah, but one with a distinctly nordiste character this year. Medium-bodied with firm acidity, the tannins are ripe, all well-integrated into the fruit, giving a strong skeleton to the wine. A good vintage for this cuvée. A property close to the Massif d'Uchaux, north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, owned by Emmanuel Reynaud of Château Rayas. No destemming. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Château de St Cosme, Le Claux | Gigondas | 2020 | 96 | Beautifully fragrant nose of star anise, cedar and cigar tobacco. Full-bodied, rounded and seductively plump and juicy, showing clarity, precision and focus on the palate, the fruit melds well with the considerable oak element, and it finishes long, tight and saline. Best Gigondas of the vintage. Very old vines, all whole-cluster fermented in concrete, no destemming, indigenous yeasts, and matured 100% in barriques; one third new, one third second use, and the rest third use. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2038. Click to see full details | |
| Château Rayas, Pignan | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Vibrant strawberry and raspberry expression with a little animal touch underneath. Not the fullest or most concentrated vintage of Pignan, but a juicy, fresh and rounded one, with a little bitter nip on the finish. Grenache grown mostly on galets along with some young vines from Rayas. No destemming, short maceration, aged in old demi-muids. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Delas, Les Bessards | Hermitage | 2020 | 96 | Full-bodied, fine and tightly wound, but with a good sense of harmony and typicity. Stretching skywards, this is a tense, saline style but with sufficient fat around the bones to make for a long-lasting wine. You can really feel the granite. From their oldest parcel of lieu-dit Les Bessards, fermented in concrete, then aged for 12 months in new and one-year-old barrels. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2045. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Beaurenard, Boisrenard | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Full and generous on the palate, no lack of fruit or depth here. Powerful and plentiful fine tannins and a great, rising sense of energy and freshness. Impressive, with real finesse and precision - no excess weight, but great surging intensity and freshness. Contains at least 1% of all the 18 possible varieties of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Grapes are grown across a variety of soil types in the lieux-dits Beau Renard, Cabrières and Coteau de l'Ange, vinified mostly in tronconic wooden vats, then aged in oak barrels of various sizes and ages, including 5% new oak. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2037. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Janasse, Vieilles Vignes | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Immediately impressive, densely fruited, with dark brooding blackberry and plum which make you sit up and take notice. It follows through onto the palate which is intense, juicy and fresh, this has more concentration than most this year, but without over extraction. Perfectly ripe, chunky and powerful, but not heavy. Fermented in concrete, matured for 12 months in foudre and demi-muid. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2037. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Monteillet, Les Grandes Places | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Very promising and dense, with great freshness and muscular tannins. Bold and intense, this is better than the 2019. Tannins are saturated with juice, all very fine, with piercing acidity. 100% new oak and aged for 36 months. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2038. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Full, generous and broad. Acids are bright and vibrant, and there's a fine but dense weft of tannins through the wine. Great energy and salinity this year, this is particularly fine and balanced, with plenty of concentration and a long finish. All from La Crau and fermented in tronconic wood barrels. Élevage in foudre. Oldest Grenache bunches aren't destemmed. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2038. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Garon, Les Rochins | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Intense on the nose, there's some rich, plum scents that points to its Brune origins. Medium-bodied, it's nicely weighted and there's good palate presence. The acidity is firm and balanced, as is the alcohol. A fairly rich style of 2020 Côte-Rôtie, which is a good thing - some are a little on the light side this year. Oak is well-balanced and integrated, to the fore for now but will settle. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2031. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Faury, Revinescence | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Intensely herbal, with rosemary, thyme, lavender and juniper. Medium-bodied, with plenty of concentrated black fruit and saturated, super-fine tannin. Long finish, well-balanced acidity, even if it's on the low side, there's a deep-set smokiness which completes the package. All in all, this is perfectly balanced, concentrated, structured and complex - a remarkably good Côte-Rôtie. The oak spice works well and frames the herbal fruits perfectly. Lieux-dits Le Plomb, l'Arselie and Fourvier, 65% whole bunch, natural yeasts, 18 months in demi-muids, unfiltered. Tasted non-blind. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Rostaing, La Landonne | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Classically dark, brooding fruits, this has length and depth, with good balance even though the acidity is quite low. With its intense and muscular tannins, this is for the long term. Four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak (limited newoak), with natural yeasts and as many stems as possible. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2045. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Roger Sabon, Le Secret des Sabon | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Full-bodied and powerful, but not over the top and with a great sense of freshness. It's expansive, with gently sweet, vibrant black cherry and kirsch notes within soft, pliable fruit tannins and a long finish. A remarkably precise and balanced wine, not the most powerful this year, but one of the most drinkable. Mostly grown on sand, fermented in stainless steel then aged in tronconic wooden vats. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Santa Duc, La Crau Ouest | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Aromas of rose, raspberry, thyme and pine needles. Fine, full-bodied but not fat, showing super-fine tannins, lovely berry acidity and a long finish. Could be excellent in time, but already dangerously drinkable. Rich sandy soils of La Crau Ouest, 85-year-old vines, all aged in amphora. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| E Guigal, La Turque | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | This feels like a classic, with the weight and tannins necessary to help this age, but it's not as massive as some recent vintages. Star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg - very much about the spice this year - this is bold and sweetly fruited, with juicy, pliable tannins and a long finish. Vines are on the Côte Brune, planted by Marcel Guigal in 1980 (first vintage 1985) after being abandoned since 1935. La Turque is a central part of Côte Brune, less than 1ha. This is only at the beginning of its 40 months in new French oak barriques. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2045. Click to see full details | |
| Ferraton Père & Fils, Le Méal | Hermitage | 2020 | 96 | Good sense of purity and definition on the nose. Tasted blind, this was unmistakably Le Méal. Slender, fine, elegant on the palate, with fine tannin and well-integrated oak. The alcohol is a little raised but overall the wine is balanced, long and shapely, with a tapered finish and excellent freshness; this is authentic Hermitage. A south-facing parcel of Le Méal, all destemmed, fermented in concrete, it then will be aged for around 18 months, 30-50% new oak. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2037. Click to see full details | |
| La Bastide St-Dominique, Les Hespérides | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Liquorice, tar and a slightly animal note lurking in the background from the Mourvèdre. Full-bodied, slick and lithe on the palate which is cut through by juicy acidity. Bold and juicy with no lack of depth, this has freshness and plentiful sinewy tannin to hold everything together. A remarkable wine. Vineyard planted in the 1950s in lieu-dit Les Bédines in galets roulés and sand. Fermented in stainless steel and then aged in stainless steel and demi-muids. 4,000 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2039. Click to see full details | |
| La Bastide St-Dominique, Secrets de Pignan | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 96 | Fine, fresh and herbal with expressive black cherry, liquorice and violets. Full-bodied, gummy and ripe in fruit, but the acidity and plentiful tannin help to keep everything moving and focused. An exceptional, long expression of pure Grenache on sand, it has the fine tannins and elegant structure you'd hope for, alongside great freshness and balance. Its longevity isn't easy to predict, but it's hard to resist drinking now anyway. From a south-facing vineyard planted in 1920 in lieu-dit Pignan, fermented and then matured in stainless steel for 18 months. 6,000 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Cognet | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Dense, powerful tannins which are grippy but ripe, this is a very long, fresh and deep wine. 100% whole bunch from a hillside parcel of Cogent. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2037. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Côte Bodin | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Fresh, sappy and complete, with fresh berry juice acidity and sweet tannins. Beautifully delicate and floral. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Le Champon | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | Very closed and extremely dense for now, this fresh but tight. The wine is long and powerful, with a great cut and dark chocolate tannins. Perhaps not the most elegant of his single vineyard wines this year, but great structure and power, especially for 2020. East-facing parcel of Le Champon. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Tardieu-Laurent | Hermitage | 2020 | 96 | Good sense of weight, volume and depth here. The acidity is marked and nicely integrated, as is the alcohol and the oak for that matter - a harmonious, though certainly a sizeable and mighty wine. Concentrated, intense and long, with a good sense of firmness and intensity, the tannins are plentiful but all saturated in fruit. This will be good in time, but wait. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2042. Click to see full details | |
| Tardieu-Laurent, Vieilles Vignes | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 96 | An immediately enticing nose, with intense crispy bacon notes, ripe blackberry and toasted spices. Medium-bodied despite its intense concentration, the acidity isn't terribly high, but it does feel balanced. Very ripe, pliable tannins, this is a rich, potent, concentrated style. Plush and seductive. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2031. Click to see full details | |
| Benjamin & David Duclaux, Coteaux de Tupin | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 95 | Fresh, smoky, sparky style on the nose, the rosemary and oregano notes are well-integrated and add to the freshness. Smooth, well-balanced and easy-going, this is deceptively approachable, but it has a mass of super-fine tannin waiting in the wings. Long finish. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine A&E Verset, Signature | Cornas | 2020 | 95 | Made entirely from lieu-dit La Geynale this year. Clean, fresh and pure, with dark chocolate and cassis. Has the great searing crystalline power of the site, with a salty acidity. Full of life and energy, with fine but gently serrated tannins. Not hugely concentrated or weighty, but it really attacks the palate with thrilling impact. Whole-bunch fermented, matured in barriques and demi-muids of between three and eight previous uses. This cuvée is a selection of their best barrels. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2049. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Alary, L'Estevenas | Cairanne | 2020 | 95 | Amazing aromatic expression, a kind of black olive caramel, with hints of cardamom. I could smell this all day. Medium- to full-bodied, but no excess flesh or weight on the palate which shows blackberries, dark chocolate, a great rising freshness, length and a raspberry finish. Strongly characterful and of great quality, it's complex, precise, defined and thrilling. From a parcel of Serine-clone Syrah planted in 1960, very early for the area. Likely to offer very good value for money. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chante Cigale, PI | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | This is very good; it has brightness, freshness, energy and length, with fine-sand tannins on the finish. Black cherry and damson fruit, it's concentrated but not overly full-bodied, with good acidity which completes the package. Beautiful sense of lightness and lift on the palate. Grenache grown on sand in lieu-dit Pignan, partly destemmed, fermented in stainless steel and aged in foudre. 2,000 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2034. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Charvin | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Little herbal note to the fruit bringing some complexity, this is saline, light, fresh, fluid and drinkable. Plenty of texture and interest to the fruit, with really searching tannins. Needs time to come round, will be elegant and charming when it does. Fruit, structure, fragrance and energy - it's got the lot. Very Charvin. Organically grown in the northwest of the appellation, in lieux-dits Cabrières and Maucoil where there's galets roulés and sand. It's fermented and then aged for 21 months in concrete using indigenous yeasts, then bottled unfiltered. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cristia, Chapelle Saint Théodoric 'Le Grand Pin' | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Rounded and generous, with the whole-bunch aspect integrated and harmonious. A touch of spice to the strawberry fruit, gentle in tannin and structure, with low acidity, then a long, savoury finish. 100% old-vine Grenache grown on sand in lieu-dit Pignan, no destemming, aged for 24 months in old demi-muids. 3,200 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Solitude, Vin de la Solitude | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Beautifully detailed nose with peppery freshness. Intense, with fine tannins, gently saline and not overly marked by wood this year - lovely drinkability. This is excellent and based on a recipe belonging to an ancestor of the Lançon family. It's unusual in its proportion of Counoise; with it are co-fermented Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Clairette Rose and Grenache Blanc. Aged in three-year-old barriques. No filtration or fining. 2,600 bottles made. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Grapillon d'Or, Excellence | Gigondas | 2020 | 95 | Spicy reductive edge to the aromas brings some complexity and vivacity to the nose. Powerful acid line and tight, muscular tannins around dark fruits touched by liquorice before the long finish. An athletic style of Gigondas grown on clay limestone vineyards, with some Grenache up to 40 years old, the Syrah even older. Destemmed, fairly long maceration (35 days). Unfined and unfiltered. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Monteillet, Bons Arrêts | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 95 | Dark fruits and cassis are wrapped up in fine tannins. No huge depth here, but good freshness, tension and lovely acidity. The oak has been swallowed well. From a 1ha, east-facing parcel and a monopole. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2029. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Faury, La Gloriette | St-Joseph | 2020 | 95 | Not as explosively aromatic as Faury's Hedonism cuvée, this has a deep aromatic presence that's more herbal and smoky, with lifted violets and smoky bacon. Medium-bodied, with super smooth tannins that coat the palate. Perfectly balanced acidity and just slightly warming alcohol. An exquisite Saint-Joseph. Tasted non-blind. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine JL Chave, Clos Florentin | St-Joseph | 2020 | 95 | Le Clos exhibits its usual exceptional balance this year: it's very ripe in fruit but slender on the palate, with tannins like 100% cacao. Bright, firm acids bring a perfect sense of balance. A panther of a wine. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2033. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine la Barroche, Pure | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Cherry blossom, thyme, strawberry and black olive. Medium-bodied, with piercingly bright acidity. Very classic style of Châteauneuf, bright and juicy, silky and not overly full-bodied, with a little touch of sucrosité at its heart. The alcohol is high but not hot, tempered by the acidity and raw energy in the wine. 100% Grenache from a plot of 100-year-old vines planted on the sandy soils at the junction of lieux-dits Rayas, Grand Pierre and Le Pointu. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Raymond Usseglio, Cuvée Impériale - Vignes Centenaires | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Generous, deep, focused, fruity and defined, this isn't giving away much at this stage, but it certainly has a good sense of freshness and balance. Powerful finish with fairly assertive tannins, with a little dry touch that should soften in time. Long finish. A wine like a finely tailored suit. From Grenache planted in 1901. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2036. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Saint-Préfert, Isabel Ferrando | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | This cuvée replaces the three historical red cuvées of the domaine (Classique, Auguste Favier and Charles Giraud). Quite introverted for now, seems to have everything required but needs time to knit together. Freshness, energy, fine and plentiful tannins with good acidity. While the alcohol is warming it is balanced. Could be very good in time, hard to judge now, but early signs are good and I'd like to see this again in bottle. From the galets roulés of lieu-dit Les Serres, fermented in concrete and then aged in concrete, old oak and amphora. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2036. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Santa Duc, Le Pied de Baud | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | The darkest, roundest and ripest of their Châteauneufs this year. Very generous, with super-fine, quite light tannins. Light, long and tremulous finish, slight raised alcohol, some wet-clay tannins and a sprinkling of dry herbs. From the sandy clay soils of the northern plateau of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, all co-planted. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2033. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Vincent Paris, Granit 60 | Cornas | 2020 | 95 | There are herbal depths here, but they're currently filled by the intense, powerful berry fruits. Medium- to full-bodied, this has good concentration and intensity of fruit, coupled with powerful but very ripe tannin. There's good energy here, the wine is upright and not as soft and easy-going as some other Cornas this year. Great vitality and salinity, this is well-balanced, fresh and classically Cornas. A satisfying and energising wine with a long finish. 50-year-old vines on very steep slopes, 70% destemmed. No pigeage, natural yeasts, then spending 16 months in two to eight-year-old barrels. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| E Guigal, La Mouline | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 95 | Sticky damson and plum fruit, just a little touch of prune in the mix. Medium-bodied with fresh, fine tannins; quite an ethereal style of La Mouline, with floral hints and plentiful spicy oak among the roses. A compact style of wine for the vintage that suits what this vineyard delivers - good expression of terroir. I would drink this young, though it will no doubt age fairly well. From lieu-dit Côte Blonde and at the beginning of its 40 months in new French oak barriques. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Le Clos | St-Joseph | 2020 | 95 | Dense black fruit overlaid with violets - very much in the Mauves style of Saint-Joseph. Peppery and spicy, full-bodied without heaviness, this feels dense but not overly thick. Tannins are chalky but melting, like 100% pure cocoa. The oak is a little more pronounced than with this producer's Les Granits cuvée, but it's nicely integrated. There's intense concentration and deep, dark tannins before the lifted finish. May prove to be the best vintage yet of Le Clos. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| M Chapoutier, Pie VI | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | The Syrah really gives this intense spice on the nose and it's already showing some potential for complexity. Fresh, not terribly deep, but plenty of power. Juicy, sweet ripe fruit at its core, then super-fine tannins flood the finish. A hedonistic, flamboyant but balanced wine that will provide a lot of unfettered pleasure. Grown on galets roulés, fermented then matured for 18 months in concrete. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2029. Click to see full details | |
| Martine & Christian Rouchier, La Chave | St-Joseph | 2020 | 95 | Rising aerial freshness, this gently hovers out of the glass, with a petrichor note on the nose. Light-bodied, but no lack of impact or intensity. Deeply textural, with a mass of ripe tannin, it finishes dry and saline. Great freshness and energy. Whole-bunch fermented with natural yeasts, followed by 16 months élevage in old barrels. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2028. Click to see full details | |
| Moulin de la Gardette, Ventabren | Gigondas | 2020 | 95 | Very ripe style, with a touch of date and fig to the blackberry fruit. Well-balanced, harmonious style that's searching and intense. Long, with fruity acidity throughout. A selection of the oldest vines of the estate (65-115 years old), organically grown on sandstone and marl, handpicked, whole-bunch fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled after maturing in old foudres and demi-muids. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2032. Click to see full details | |
| Piedlong | Châteauneuf-du-Pape | 2020 | 95 | Beautifully fragrant style, with rose and raspberry. Gentle, soft, not massive but rounded and smooth on the palate, showing bright acidity, and while the tannins are present they're melted into the wine. Drinkable, approachable, pure and well-balanced - very good this year. Grenache fermented in concrete, Mourvèdre in wood. Two years of élevage in foudres. No destemming with half of the Grenache. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Pierre Jean Villa, Fongeant | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 95 | Considerably more interesting on the nose than most other 2020s, this has lifted mint, vanilla pod and white pepper aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, this also has much better concentration than many, without substituting freshness. The alcohol is just a little raised, but it's a small price to pay for creating this level of concentration and complexity. Not a big one, but a genuine, classically styled Côte-Rôtie within the context of the vintage. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Stéphane Ogier, Leyat | Côte-Rôtie | 2020 | 95 | Fresh, upright and direct, this is charming and full of energy. Powerful, dark, intense and driving, with ripe and springy tannins. 60% whole bunch. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details |