Château Marsau 2020

Smooth and supple, a lovely core of juicy red fruits. Scented with herbal touches—rosemary, cinnamon and clove—giving a touch of piquancy on the mid-palate that is gentle and supportive. Stylish, perfumed and nuanced, still sleek with tension that brings a certain linearity at this point; certainly not super-ripe or plush. Lovely, gentle, delicate freshness and lift on the finish. Red fruits with some medicinal edges, then a clean, salty, wet-stone and slate element that lingers. A shining wine in 2020.

The 2020 Marsau is made from 100% Merlot with a yield of 22 hl/ha and was tasted 6 weeks after bottling. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock a powerhouse of blueberry preserves, stewed plums, and black cherry compote notes, with suggestions of dark chocolate, licorice, and lilacs plus a hint of clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, rich, and decadent on the palate, it has firm, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with fantastic fruit purity.

91-92

On the nose, a basket of ripe summer fruits, with delicate, quivering aromas that invite you to dive in. Superb freshness on the palate, with growing power that brings structure to this very serious wine. Fine tannins wrap around a discreet core of fruit.

Dark, intense, purple hue. Aromatic nose with ripe fruit. Bursting with fruit on the attack, supple mid-palate, flavorful and even rich, the wine glides into a long, juicy and very pleasant finish. It’s very good. I don’t know this estate well, but here the Merlot on clay performed very well this year. 100% Merlot. Estate converting to organic farming.