Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Chateau Prieure-Lichine presents a ripe profile. Silky and velvety palate, with a bouquet of black and spicy fruit, affirming this great terrior.
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black cherries, blackcurrants, tobacco, cacao and some licorice on the nose. Firm yet creamy, with very fine tannins that spread across the palate. Medium to full body. So long and beautifully balanced.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine already shows a luscious side with its ripe black fruits and rich tannins. The obverse shows structure and acidity. Both these elements will together give a wine for aging.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Decanter
Ripe and deeply scented on the nose and palate, a lingering florality follows the dark black fruits from start to finish. This has a lovely richness, more textural depth than some with salty, liquorice and wet stone tannins that support the fruit and give the frame. Rich and intense but so sleek. Super glamour on show, but elegant in its presentation. Definitely mineral, a salty coolness on the finish but textured tannins giving an appealing chalkiness too. Bold but restrained and super refreshing. A great wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Offering up generous amounts of sweet berries, orange rind and licorice, the 2022 Prieuré-Lichine is medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with a lively core of fruit that's framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully firm finish. This heavily morcellated estate (amounting to some 125 different parcels) continues to benefit from a more rigorous selection and better attention to detail regarding harvest dates.Rating:91-93
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Jeb Dunnuck
Tasted on two separate occasions, the 2020 Château Prieuré-Lichine has a solid perfume of redcurrants, blueberries, smoky oak, and chocolate that shows more and more floral nuances with time in the glass. Nicely textured on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness, it has solid mid-palate depth, ripe tannins, and a great finish.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and focused, with a violet and alder frame that marries well to the core of lightly steeped plum and black currant fruit flavors. The alder edge asserts itself on the finish, though the fruit keeps pace just a half-step behind. This should settle in with some cellaring. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2026.
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.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.