Saint-Pierre - Saint-Julien 2020

Vinous

94-94

par Neal Martin le 28/02/2025

The 2020 Saint-Pierre has a well-defined, very precise bouquet with blackberry, raspberry and touches of bay leaf and loam. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a keen line of acidity, lightly spiced with a vivid, white-pepper-tinged finish. Delightful and gentle. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Alexandre Ma

93

par Alexandre Ma le 18/04/2023

Wine Advocate

93

par William Kelley le 06/04/2023

The 2020 Saint-Pierre is a rich, dramatic wine bursting with aromas of blackberries, blueberry liqueur, anise, clove and brown sugar. Medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, it's generous and enveloping, with a ripe core of fruit, succulent acids and powdery tannins that discreetly assert themselves on the finish. The wine's creamy, fruit-driven profile belies its comparatively moderate 13.3% alcohol.

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 31/03/2023

A plush, broad, toasty style, with warmed plum sauce and steeped blackberry notes forming the core, while sweet tobacco, ganache and dark earth hints fill in behind. A lovely sanguine thread adds a mouthwatering aspect to the finish as the fruit plays out. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2038. 4,687 cases made.

Jeb DUNNUCK

96

par Jeb Dunnuck le 30/03/2023

I continue to absolutely love what this estate puts in the bottle, and it remains an incredible value given its quality. The 2020 Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) reveals a deeper ruby/purple hue to go with gorgeous aromatics of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, gravelly earth, and chocolate. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the more elegant, pure, precision style of the vintage, has perfectly integrated background oak, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This brilliant Saint Julien will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and have 30+years of overall longevity. Bravo.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94

par Jeff Leve le 22/03/2023

The nose, with its notes of espresso, smoke, tobacco, incense, spice and red currants creates the perfume. On the palate, the wine is soft, seductive, and long, with a focus on its core of ripe, polished, earthy, black currants, chocolate and coffee beans. The finish is soft, polished, and fresh. Drink from 2024-2050.

Alexandre Ma

93

par Alexandre Ma le 15/03/2023

Wines Critic

94

par Raffaele Vecchione le 10/03/2023

Very elegant and well lengthened in the sensory profile showing notes of lavender, hibiscus, red prunes, cut cedar, lemon, lime and vetiver. Medium bodied, good quality biting tannins and a tense finale which needs some time to distend. Better from 2025.

Vinous

95

par Antonio Galloni le 24/02/2023

The 2020 Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) is loaded with scents of blackberry jam, dried herbs, graphite, incense, espresso and licorice. This powerful, tannic Saint-Julien is going to need years to soften, but it is incredibly impressive in the early going. From barrel, the 2020 was quite unctuous, but today it has grown into a wine that marries opulence with classicism in grand style. the intensity of the Cabernet Sauvignon really comes through.

Vinous

94

par Neal Martin le 15/02/2023

The 2020 Saint-Pierre has really blossomed during its élevage. Its dalliance with Pauillac on the nose has been dispensed. It is not much more Saint-Julien-like, perhaps showing even more fruit concentration and opulence than its sibling, Gloria, with its plush red fruit mixed with sous-bois and undergrowth. The palate is medium-bodied yet fuller and denser than the Gloria, quite powerful and more higher-toned without losing a sense of style and panache.

Jamessuckling.com

96

par James Suckling le 16/01/2023

Attractive aromas of blackberries, plum skins, cloves, cardamom, dark chocolate, cedar and graphite. Some wet stones, too. Full-bodied, opulent and broad-shouldered. Structured and refined. It has a deep core of ripe black fruit covered with layers of plush and velvety tannins that linger for a long time on the palate. Really long and even. Try after 2027.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

91

par Jane Anson le 16/01/2023

Old school classic Pomerol, well held in bilberry and cassis fruit with punch and character. Full tannic hold right now, ageing potential, bitter on the finish.

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 30/11/2022

A plush, broad, toasty style, with warmed plum sauce and steeped blackberry notes forming the core, while sweet tobacco, ganache and dark earth hints fill in behind. A lovely sanguine thread adds a mouthwatering aspect to the finish as the fruit plays out. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2038. 

TASTED

92

par Andreas Larsson le 06/07/2021

Nice purity and precision, ample and ripe cabernet fruit, dense yet within the medium bodied range without opulence, pure and fresh with finely polished tannin and a long pure finish.

Vinous

93-95

par Antonio Galloni le 01/06/2021

The 2020 Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Inky, rich and explosive, the 2020 possesses magnificent intensity from start to finish. Crème de cassis, lavender, spice, chocolate, licorice, graphite and menthol infuse the 2020 with striking depth. The 2020 is heady and unctuous, but not at all overdone. It is one of my early favorites in this vintage, within its peer group. Tasted two times.

Jeb DUNNUCK

94-96

par Jeb Dunnuck le 28/05/2021

The 2020 Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien) looks to be beautiful, with a fresher, focused, yet still powerful style that fits nicely into the vintage. Lots of black and blue fruits, crushed stone, and graphite define the nose, and it's full-bodied, with a great mid-palate, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's going to need time to integrate its oak, but the purity of fruit, quality of the tannins, and balance are all spot on. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

Vinous

92-94

par Neal Martin le 27/05/2021

The 2020 Saint-Pierre has a distinctly Pauillac-like nose with veins of graphite and mint infusing the black fruit, focused and full of tension. This is very classy. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that belie the structure underneath. It has good grip, and comes across quite strict and correct. If I am to quibble, and quibble I will, it maybe doesn’t finish with the fireworks that I have noticed on other recent superlative vintages. Perhaps that might develop in barrel. If so, it will warrant a higher score.

Decanter.com

94

par Jane Anson le 25/05/2021

This is excellent, really the most gorgeous balance of power, with dark blueberry juicy fruits and lots of liquorice. Excellent balance and a seductive overall frame. Great stuff - the tannins are pretty fierce though, needs time, will reward ageing.

The Wine Cellar Insider

93-95

par Jeff Leve le 21/05/2021

Seductive, with loads of ripe, dark, fresh, polished, earthy, black currants, cedar, toasty oak, licorice and spice. The wine is soft, polished, fresh and focused, leaving you with layers of deep ripe fruits, a touch of coffee bean, cocoa and currants. This should age and evolve for 25 years or more. 93-95

Wine Advocate

94-96

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 20/05/2021

Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Saint-Pierre bursts with baked blackberries, stewed plums and cassis, followed by hints of dried mint, chocolate box and tapenade with a waft of pencil lead. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled with impressive freshness and ripe, fine-grained tannins supporting the energetic black fruits, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note. The blend is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, aging for around 14 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. The alcohol is 13.3%.

Bernard Burtschy

95-96

par Bernard Burtschy le 10/05/2021

Falstaff

92-94

par Peter Moser le 10/05/2021

Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Feine Edelholznuancen, schwarze Beerenfrucht nach Cassis und Brombeeren, etwas Nougat unterlegt. Stoffig, reife dunkle Frucht, feine Süße, reife Tannine, mineralisch unterlegt, bleibt gut haften, vielversprechendes Entwicklungspotenzial

My Bettane + Desseauve

93

par Bettane & Desseauve le 07/05/2021

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

par James Suckling le 23/04/2021

A firm, very structured wine from here, with intense tannins that are very polished and long. Pure fruit. One of the best in a long time.