Chateau Balestard La Tonnelle (Futures Pre-sale) 2020
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
After a traditional vinification, the wine of Château Balestard La Tonnelle is aged in new oak barrels, half of which are renewed each year.
Combining respect for the terroir, tradition and the latest technology, Balestard La Tonnelle offers a wine of extreme elegance, generous, to place among the most recognized of the Grands Crus Classés of Saint-Emilion.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A ripe, round red with blackberry, plum and cherry character. Medium-to full-bodied with chewy tannins and a flavorful finish.
Barrel Sample: 92-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opaque purple-black colored, the 2020 Balestard la Tonnelle opens with notes of cedar chest, stewed black plums and boysenberry preserves, giving way to notions of damp soil, tar and unsmoked cigars with a waft of dried Provence herbs. The medium to full-bodied palate is a little woody at this nascent stage, offering a lot of juicy black fruit beneath the oak with a chewy texture and bags of freshness, finishing long and spicy.
Barrel Sample: (90-92)+ -
Decanter
Concentrated straight from the first nose, with inky purple, glass-staining fruits. This is pretty powerful, bounces off the walls with its tannins, with heat running through it. It holds on to a juiciness in the fruit though, alongside clear chocolate notes that up the exuberance. Not really my style of wine but this is successful, with a ton of in your face presence and an attractive slow-slate tugging through the close of play.
Barrel Sample: 92 -
Jeb Dunnuck
I'd wager the finest wine I've tasted from this chateau, the 2020 Chateau Balestard La Tonnelle offers a medium to full-bodied, richly textured, opulent style as well as lots of ripe cherry and currant fruits, building, polished tannins, great mid-palate depth, and classic Saint-Emilion notes of chalky minerality, white truffles, tobacco, and a hint of iron. It already offers pleasure yet should evolve for 15+ years in cold cellars. Best After 2023
Other Vintages
2005-
Connoisseurs'
Guide
François Villon mentions the wine of Balestard in his famous poem, written too in the 15th century, and as a testimonial of this historical acclaim the verse still appears on our labels.
Generous, exquisitely delicate, Balestard la Tonnelle is one of Saint-Emilion's finest Great Classified Growths.
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.