Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a glorious 2020 with such pure fruit of currants and blackberries, as well as dark chocolate. It’s full and layered and opens in the glass to a lovely layer of fine, velvety tannins that are bright and citrusy. Crunchy. It really opens and shows so many layers. Spectacular.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The Grand Vin 2020 Chateau Croix De Labrie is brilliant and the finest wine I've tasted from this estate. Dense purple-hued, with a liqueur of limestone-like minerality intermixed with ripe black cherries, boysenberry, spring flowers, and graphite, it's full-bodied, has a wealth of fruit and texture, sweet tannins, and remarkable purity. Its oak is perfectly integrated, and it brings richness as well as an incredible sense of precision and purity. This brilliant Saint-Emilion will be drinkable in just 3-4 years and will evolve for two decades. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Best After 2026. Rating: 97+
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Croix de Labrie wafts out of the glass with flamboyant notions of sandalwood, red roses, ground cloves and cedar chest, giving way to a core of stewed black plums, Morello cherries and boysenberries, plus a waft of bouquet garni. The medium to full-bodied palate has a rock-solid backbone of firm, ripe, rounded tannins and plenty of freshness, nicely framing the muscular black fruits, finishing long and spicy.
Axelle and Pierre Courdurié's 50-year-old, 3.79-hectare vineyard consists of a mix of clay and limestone soils, a portion of which are in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes and another portion of which are located at the foot of the Pavie slope in Saint-Émilion. Barrel Sample: 93-95
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Decanter
Glass-staining purple, plenty of violet reflections. It starts off with confidence, with sappy fruits and a whisk of mocha gourmet edging, and keeps up the pace through the palate. Nicely held together with tension, concentrated flavours and a swagger of grilled oak. Axelle and Pierre Courdurié. A yield of 25hl/ha, 100% new oak.
Barrel Sample: 93
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.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.