Chateau de Pressac 2020
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Suckling
James - Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a dark and spiced character with plums and blackberries on offer as well as chocolate and walnut undertones. Medium- to full-bodied with firm tannins and a toned, vivid character. Deep and black fruited palate with a textured, lingering finish. Drink from 2025.
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Decanter
Juicy and lively with lots of liquorice and dark chocolate flavours lacing the blackcurrant, raspberry, blueberry and plum fruit. Feels well worked with balanced acidity and a super sleek texture and I love the limestone touches - the salinity and minerality. Tannins are fine and well integrated. There's a classicism to this despite being a big wine - clearly well structured - but this has lovely pure acidity, clean fruit profile and long length. Feels supremely well made - one I definitely wanted another glass of! Understated charm and a great value pick here.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Château De Pressac showed beautifully, with terrific purity in its spicy dark fruits, spice, chocolate, and earthy nuances. Medium to full-bodied and concentrated, with ripe tannins, it's another balanced, layered, incredibly impressive Saint-Emilion that does everything right. It's going to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for two decades, if not longer. The blend is 79% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Carmenère and Malbec.
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Parker
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Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert -
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James
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Spectator
Wine
This is how the notary of the time described the Chateau de Pressac at the time of its sale by the Sieur d'Anglade to Jean-Marc Constantin, captain of the regiment of Marmande, in 1775. This description is interesting in so far as it formally proves the existence of a vineyard around the chateau in the 18th century. We also know that this fortified manor house was renovated several times and that it was initially founded in the Middle Ages. Towards the beginning of the Renaissance, it was an imposing building with no less than twenty five towers, some of which remain in existence today as vestiges.
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.