2020 Château Belgrave, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

2020 Château Belgrave, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

Product: 20208008815
Prices start from £160.00 per case Buying options
2020 Château Belgrave, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

Sappy and muscular black fruits here, you really get the impression that the tannins and colour components in the grapes have been searched for and gently coaxed out. Tobacco leaf and redcurrant aromatics arrive that show the fruits are not as exuberant as in some years, but this has been well handled and carefully balanced. 32% new oak for ageing.

Jane Anson, Decanter.com (May 2021)

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson91/100
Sappy and muscular black fruits here, you really get the impression that the tannins and colour components in the grapes have been searched for and gently coaxed out. Tobacco leaf and redcurrant aromatics arrive that show the fruits are not as exuberant as in some years, but this has been well handled and carefully balanced. 32% new oak for ageing.

Jane Anson, Decanter.com (May 2021) Read more
Neal Martin, Vinous86-88/100
The 2020 Belgrave is matured in 32% new oak for an expected 12 months. It has what you might call a punchy nose, featuring brambly black fruit and touches of brine and sea spray; it would benefit from a little more cohesion. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, good acidity and a very classic Médoc, tobacco-tinged finish that just needs a little more flair. Maybe that will develop during its barrel maturation. Conservative at the moment.

Drink from 2026 to 2036

Neal Martin, Vinous (May 2021) Read more
Antonio Galloni, Vinous88-90/100
The 2020 Belgrave is a promising Haut-Médoc. Graphite, scorched earth, cloves, licorice and lavender create a deep, penetrating bouquet. There is good depth and energy here, even if the 2020 remains just a bit lean. All the Belgrave needs is a bit more midpalate juiciness. Tasted two times.

Drink from 2026 to 2035

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (June 2021) Read more
James Suckling92-93/100
Very pretty and fresh with blackberry and blueberry aromas. Some flowers, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with round, polished tannins and a vivid finish.

James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (April 2021) Read more
Jeb Dunnuck89-91/100
The 2020 Château Bellegrave has a solid herbal kick yet still brings plenty of ripe black cherry and currant fruit as well as notes tobacco, cedar, and chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, it's nicely textured, has polished tannins, and a solid finish.

Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (May 2021) Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Belgrave

Chateau Belgrave

Château Belgrave, classed as a 5ème Cru Classé in the 1855 Classification, was a run-down property producing fairly mediocre wines until 1980. Salvation came in the form of the Bordeaux firm, Dourthe, which bought Belgrave and immediately renovated the cuverie and cellars, as well as extensively replanting the vineyards. By the mid 80s, cult oenologist Michel Rolland was consulting and the subsequent rise in quality has been meteoric.

Belgrave is situated in Saint-Laurent, which is just outside the St-Julien appellation, and there are 55 hectares of vineyards, planted with Cabernet-Sauvignon (40%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Petit Verdot (5%). The wine is matured in oak barriques, 50% new, for between 15 and 18 months.

Belgrave produces sleek, stylish and harmonious clarets that, while difficult to resist when young, amply reward cellaring for up to 10 years.

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Haut-Medoc

Haut-Medoc

Despite being as visually unprepossessing as the rest of the Médoc (despite its grandiose châteaux) this large red-wine appellation of Haut-Médoc is home to some of the world’s greatest wines. Its 4,500 hectares of vineyards form a largely continuous strip that follows the Gironde from St Seurin-de-Cadourne, just north of St Estèphe, to Blanquefort in the northern suburbs of Bordeaux.

All the great communes of the Left Bank fall within its boundaries: Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe, as well as the up and coming Moulis and Listrac. These are labelled under their own, more illustrious and expensive appellation names. Châteaux labelled simply as Haut-Médoc rarely reach such heights, but nevertheless offer consistently good quality and offer some of the best value in Bordeaux.

Haut-Médoc wines tend to be firm and fine with generous fruit and a nice minerality – what many would consider ‘classic Claret’. They come from loftier vineyards and offer higher quality and more complexity than those labelled simply as ‘Médoc’. Almost all wines are a blend of the principal varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc – which helps producers hedge their bets if the slightly capricious climate causes one variety to fail. Small amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec and even Carmenère are also used.

The higher proportion of sand and gravel to the south tends to produce finer wines, while the heavier clay and gravel north of Margaux yields sturdier examples. The best Haut-Médocs are found north of Ludon, a village just below Margaux. These include five classified Growths: Third Growth Ch. La Lagune, underperforming Fourth Growth Ch. la Tour Carnet and Fifth Growths Ch. Cantemerle, Ch. Camensac and Ch. Belgrave – as well as a number of fine Cru Bourgeois. Ageing ability varies but the lesser wines are usually delicious after three to four years, lasting around a decade, while the Cru Classés have a drinkability window of around six to 15 years.

Recommended Châteaux (labelled as Haut-Médoc): Ch. Beaumont, Ch. Belgrave, Ch. Cantemerle, Ch. Peyrabon

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Cabernet Sauvignon blend

Cabernet Sauvignon blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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