Château Grand Corbin-Despagne 2020

This has the dark yet soft-edged ripeness of the vintage, with plum and boysenberry compote notes laced with melted licorice forming the core, while slightly taut alder and cedar threads lace the savory-tinged finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2029. 9,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.

Full and fruity but also very concentrated, this has elements of prune and raisin—hinting at the 15% ABV—alongside juicy blueberries that give a sense of both ripe and fresh black fruits. Acidity is excellent and lifts the frame while the spiced tannins define the edges. It’s a little overt for now, with heat and alcohol layered vertically so both linger on the finish. Feels a bit full-on, but it has energy and a sense of style. Second year in conversion to biodynamics. Started organic in 2004.

A St.-Emilion with a solid core of fruit, fresh herbs, walnuts and hazelnuts. Medium- to full-bodied with layers of tannins and a juicy finish. Chewy at the end. 75% merlot, 24% cabernet franc and 1% cabernet sauvignon. From organically grown grapes. Give this three to four years to soften and come together.

Full bottle 1,310 g. Cask sample taken 7 April. Certified organic. Extremely deep, dark purple. Much subtler, deeper nose than many of its peers. You can be convinced that there are hidden depths here. Intense, ripe, supple purple-fruit flavours – even some very ripe cassis – and very persistent. This has the richness of late-20th-century St-Émilion but also has great freshness. Palate-coating with quite a charge of ripe tannins underneath. Impressive. (JR)

The 2020 Grand Corbin Despagne has a clean blackberry, bilberry and undergrowth-scented bouquet that might benefit from more vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and fresh acidity. It's lively with a pleasant, lightly spiced finish that fans out gently. No showstopper, but a finely crafted Saint-Émilion.

Flowers, licorice, cherries, plums, spice, bay leaves and sage create the complex aromatics. The wine is medium-bodied, silky and fresh. There is a gorgeous vibrancy and purity in the sweet, ripe, red fruits that linger long after the wine has left your glass. Produced from blending 75% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, this finesse-styled wine is clearly one of the best vintages of Chateau Grand Corbin-Despagne ever produced. Drink from 2024-2045.

Deep dark ruby, purple reflections, opaque core, subtle brightening on the rim. Delicate red cherry, hints of wild berries, soft notes of fig and tobacco, a touch of wood. Powerful, substantial, some nougat, sweet black cherries, vivid, integrated tannins, pronounced fruit on the finish, shows length and ageing potential, a complex food wine.

Deep ruby/purple-hued, the 2020 Château Grand Corbin-Despagne offers up a perfumed, exotic bouquet of red, blue, and black fruits as well as spicy oak, flowery incense, and sandalwood. Beautifully complex, medium to full-bodied, layered, and elegant on the palate, it has the vintage's concentration and power while staying light on its feet and graceful. It's another brilliant 2020 that will benefit from just short-term bottle age and keep for over two decades.

Dark fruits, majoring on cassis and bilberry, creamy texture and clear concentration, fully ripe fruits that head towards fig but are brought into balance by bitter chocolate and aniseed. Delicious, from a gravel-sand-clay 29ha vineyard owned by François Despagne, 36hl/ha yield.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Grand Corbin-Despagne is made from 75% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Notions of plum preserves, baked cherries, and dried mulberries spring from the glass, followed by hints of cedar and iron ore. The full-bodied palate is rich and seductive, with velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with a mineral lift.

94-95

The bouquet of Grand Corbin-Despagne unfolds with subtlety and complexity. It doesn’t have a particular focus, beyond its ability to reveal many facets—fruit-driven, spicy, and mineral alike. The wine features fleshy tannins, a razor-sharp structure, and a roaming fruit expression from the attack through to the finish. A wine unafraid to show its temperament—its tension—ideally wrapped in the finesse and softness of Merlot. A juicy, fruity, persistent finish. What a great success!

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Very aromatic and subtle nose. Ripe fruit. Lovely interplay between black fruits and woody nuances. Charming from the very first sip, unfolding on an airy, melting, aromatic body, with a graceful carriage never before seen in this cru. Everything melts away, leaving plenty of flavor on the long finish without a hint of tannin. It’s delicious and impossible to spit out.

The usual elegance of Grand Corbin Despagne is present in this vintage, with a more concentrated profile, ripe, full black fruit, peppery notes, and a heady floral register. It is finely chiselled and very gourmand. The finish is all about freshness.

The nose is fruity, indulgent, beautifully defined, and offers pure fruit, a touch of intensity, lovely fleshy/juicy fruit, as well as complexity, depth, and a certain power. There are notes of bright blueberry and violet, and, more subtly, bright strawberry, with touches of crushed blackcurrant, juicy blackberry, lily, hints of licorice, cornflower, as well as small touches of cubeb pepper, vanilla, and ripe almond. The palate is fruity, elegant, and fresh, delivering power (with delicacy), concentration (with finesse), a lovely fine grain, structure, depth, a subtle multi-layered side, good volume, precision, fine tension, and richness (all well controlled). On the palate, this wine reveals notes of bright wild blackcurrant, pulpy blueberry, and, more slightly, juicy plum, alongside touches of small black fruits, cornflower, strawberry, strawberry blossom, hints of vanilla, toasted hazelnut, blond tobacco, mocha, and very discreet hints of graphite (in the background). Good length. The tannins are precise, well-handled, elegant, racy, and offer a certain plushness. A beautifully gourmet wine! Congratulations