Chateau Monbousquet 2020
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The red wines produced on this exceptional terroir of this estate of 82 acres in one block are rich, with great complexity and aromas of ripe fruit.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chateau Monbousquet is lights-out good, offering a full-bodied, concentrated, opulent profile as well as notes of ripe black cherries, cassis, chocolate, and leafy herbs. With terrific purity, velvety tannins, and incredible richness as well as a remarkable sense of freshness, it's going to evolve for 15+ years in cold cellars.
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James Suckling
Very tight and linear with blackberries, chocolate and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied. Linear. Racy and pretty.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Monbousquet is a blend of 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming in with an alcohol of 14.69% and a pH of 3.75. It is aging in French oak barriques, 50% new. With a deep purple-black color, it prances out of the glass with showy scents of crushed black plums, mulberries and Morello cherries, plus touches of dried Provence herbs, charcoal and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers expressive black and red berry layers, framed by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a fragrant earth note. Barrel Sample: (91-93)+
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Decanter
Perfumed and heady with blue fruits and bramble. Lean and straight, there’s a real austerity to this, serious liquorice on the palate, a touch dry, you get the feeling of heat and fruit. A little reserved right now; tense and serious, but has backbone and weight. It’s dark, savoury, coiled and tense, with drive and texture, displaying tobacco, graphite and an iron, mineral tang.
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More than four centuries of history define Château Monbousquet, passed through the hands of many successive owners, its production acquires since the 18th century a very good reputation in Saint-Emilion.
In 1993, Gerard Perse (owner of Château Pavie) took ownership of Monbousquet, leading to many great accomplishments and a complete renovation, including a new drainage system, a barrel ageing cellar and state-of-the-art equipment introduced. After over a decade of ownership, Monbousquet was promoted to Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé, becoming one of the region's leading wines.
Located 500 meters from the south slopes of Saint-Emilion, Château Monbousquet benefits from an exceptional terroir diversity with a parc of 7 hectares in the heart of the property and two distinct types of soil for the vineyard. One composed of sandy-clay soils, allowing a fresh, fruity and powerful expression of the Merlot, accounting for about 60% of the blend. On the south part of the property, you’ll find more gravelly soil, therefore rather warm, allowing the significant proportion of Cabernets to provide softness and substantial structure. This complexity gives to Château Monbousquet a unique character yet proper to the terroir of the right bank.
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.