CHÂTEAU D'AIGUILHE
2020 Côtes de Castillon
Violet reflections, great clarity of colour and immediate whoosh of salinity through the redcurrant fruits. Powerful and focused with bright berry flavours, it practically defines the term crunchy fruit, then softens to show creamier black cherry purée as it relaxes in the glass. Really a very tasty d'Aiguilhe from Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg. Extremely moreish. Harvest September 17 – 28, 30% new oak. Drinking range: 2023 - 2034 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Black cherry, black berry and orange peel with some cedar aromas, follow through to a medium body with fine and chalky tannins. Dried herb and bark undertones. Some salt, too. Drink or hold. Drinking range: 2023 - 2034 Rating: 92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2023)
The 2020 d'Aiguilhe captures all of the exuberance of the vintage. Jammy and explosive, the 2020 offers up a heady mélange of raspberry preserves, mocha, spice and rose petal. This lush, extravagantly rich wine is a real beauty, but the style is definitely pushed in the direction of ripeness and textural intensity. Give the tannins a few years to soften. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Château d'Aiguilhe has quite an exuberant nose, mulberry and brambly black fruit mixed with a touch of Earl Grey, well-defined and showing more conviction than the preceding Clos Marsalette. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, cohesive and quite saline, the chalky terroir percolating through and lending freshness and nerve on the finish. This is a lovely d'Aiguilhe. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Nicely rendered, with a very pure beam of cassis and cherry puree leading the way, infused gently with violet and savory accents. The fresh, focused finish is sneaky long. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. 20,000 cases made —J.M Drinking range: 2023 - 2034 Rating: 92 The Wine Spectator, www.winespectator.com (Jan 2023)
This is a dark sweet-fruited wine with a sour edge to the back of the palate and this is rather symptomatic of this 2020 vintage. Full, ripe, dark and packed with black-cherry fruit and then the tart acidity swarms in and suck the moisture out of the experience. While this might sound a little uncomfortable it is a sign that this wine has keen freshness and when this acidity softens I imagine that this will be a rather exotically-scented, sleek wine. Rather than being shaped like a traditional Castillon, it resembles a top-flight Barbera from Piemonte! Rating: 17+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 d'Aiguilhe is bright, punchy and so expressive. Clean mineral accents cut right through a core of blueberry fruit. Graphite, lavender, spice and mocha linger on the clean, bracing finish. Medium in body and vibrant, Stephan von Neipperg's Côtes de Castillon is superb in 2020. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Château d’Aiguilhe has a nose laden with mulberry, blackberry, allspice and even rooibos scents that lends it a subtle Capelands slant, not necessarily in a bad way. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip on the entry, offering crunchy black fruit struck through with a silver bead of acidity. Fresh and vibrant, leaving blackberry, tobacco and touches of sour cherry on the aftertaste. There is real joie-de-vivre here. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
Château d'Aiguilhe
Chateau d’Aiguilhe, owned by Stephan Neipperg is situated in a unique location. The Bordeaux wine property is bordered on one side by a plateau. The other side is bordered by a small valley. This overlooks “l’aiguille”, which is a French term meaning “needle.” This is how the chateau found its name. The property has a long and interesting history as a Bordeaux wine property. At one time, there was supposed to have been a Roman villa on this site. Much later, the château was probably used as a commandery for the Knights Templar. The first written records date back to the late 12th century. The château was built in the 13th century. d’Aiguilhe was obtained by the d’Albret family before it was sold to the Leberthon family. The Leberthon family connection was important as numerous familiy members were officials in the Bordeaux parliament. Eventually the Leberthons sold Château d’Aiguilhe on the eve of the French Revolution to Etienne Martineau. He expanded it into a huge Bordeaux wine estate with four hundred hectares of vines in a single block. His descendents remained owners of the château until 1920. Today, the Right Bank property is owned and managed by Stephan von Neipperg, who owns several other Bordeaux wine properties in St. Emilion.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.