Château Le Bon Pasteur 2020

The elegance and precision of a great red wine from Pomerol

The estate

Founded in 1920 by their grandparents, it was in 1978 that the famous oenologist Michel Rolland and his brother took over from their father at the helm of Château Le Bon Pasteur, grand cru of Bordeaux.

The vineyard

The 6.6 hectares of vines in Pomerol are spread out over 23 plots with a typical terroir, the model vineyard producing high-performance wines. The vineyard is managed using sustainable agriculture, and the estate has earned the High Environmental Value certification.

The vintage

The 2020 vintage will remain etched in everyone’s memory as a historically early vintage. Following a rainy autumn, winter marked a break with mild, dry climate. This mildness also permeated into spring, which turned out to be wetter. This gave the vines an excellent water reserve. These conditions encouraged early flowering. Summer was very sunny and dry, giving the berries a special character. The climate in 2020 required the teams at the state to carry out custom-made work on the vines. Elegant, powerful wines with a beautiful aromatic freshness emerged from this legendary vintage.

Winemaking and ageing

After the manual harvests, which took place from 11 to 29 September, the berries were taken to the cellar to begin the winemaking process. A double sorting before and after destemming was carried out, as well as an intra-plot selection. The grapes were macerated cold for 5 to 7 days before fermenting in new French oak barrels. Finally, the wine aged for 15 to 18 months in the same barrels.

Blend

Merlot (80%), Cabernet Franc (20%).

Tasting

Colour

The 2020 Château Le Bon Pasteur is a beautifully intense and deep colour, with violet tints.

Nose

The aromatic bouquet is sustained by the fineness and complexity of aromas of ripe black fruit, as well as notes of violet and liquorice.

Palate

The 2020 Château Le Bon Pasteur is an elegant wine with great precision. The attack is smooth and fleshy, and the wine offers fine tannins on the palate. The purity of the long finish gives this cuvée its reputation of excellence.