Winemaker Notes
This vintage is a harmonius blend of ripe and well-concentrated Merlots, completed by the power of the Cabernet Sauvignon and balance of the Petit Verdot. In the mouth, the wine is supple and straightforward. The density is balanced by the elegance and the finesse. This bright wine should delight.
Blend: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Owned by a member of the Cuvelier family, this estate has produced a ripe, juicy wine bright with black currant and rich with generous tannins. The future is good for this carefully structured wine.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
James Suckling
This has a dusty character with black cherries and currants, as well as hints of cocoa, wet earth and raw mushrooms. Medium- to full-bodied with ripe, plush tannins that continue to build up throughout the deep, dark-fruited palate. It’s a muscular Poujeaux with a spicy and chocolatey finish. Try after 2026.
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Decanter
Bramble fruits on the nose. Supple and generous, this has quite clear salty minerality, with pencil lead, cola and liquorice elements lining the fruit, giving this a dark, seductive tone. Good depth, texture and weight. Round, complete, driven, deep and long. Feels a touch closed and pent up right now, or all in one line, but clearly stylish. A touch of spice on the finish, with some dark chocolate bitterness that lingers. Shows power right now, rather than softness of fruit that will come in time.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Poujeaux is a strong follow-up to the excellent 2019. Wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, minty blackberries, pencil shavings and licorice, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and lively, with excellent concentration, refined tannins and a penetrating finish. A touch more tightly wound out of the gates than the 2019, it will reward a few years' patience with a broad drinking window.Rating: 91+
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Jeb Dunnuck
Also solid, the 2020 Château Poujeaux exhibits a deeper ruby/purple hue to go with impressive aromatics of ripe black cherries, cedary herbs, and leather. These carry to a medium-bodied, nicely textured Moulis that has the ripe, yet firmer tannins of the vintage. Drink bottles any time over the coming decade or more.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
One of the six appellations of the Haut-Medoc, Moulis has a rolling landscape with considerable soil variations. With its mix of gravel, clay and limestone, Moulis offers some of the more enticingly perfumed Bordeaux Blends of the Left Bank.