CHÂTEAU LA GARDE
2020 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
Black berry fruit, gravel, bark, tobacco leaves and iodine here. It’s medium-bodied, savory and pleasantly austere, with fine tannins. Rusty elements. Drink in 2025. Rating: 91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
* 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.
Spicy and with faint hints of green leafiness among the red fruit this is an interesting wine with more detail than I normally see here. The oak is discreet and the balance is finely judged. The tannins are dry and a little hard, but they will melt away to leave a pretty, energetic, spicy La Garde. Rating: 16.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 La Garde is a heady, exuberant wine. Inky black fruit, chocolate, spice, new leather, licorice and charcoal blast across the palate. This bold, potent Pessac-Léognan has a ton to offer. The juicy, substantial finish is quite attractive. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 89-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Château La Garde is a little muted at first, opening gradually to display blackberry, brine, pitted olives and light undergrowth scents, coalescing nicely with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied, crisp and focused, with fine-grained tannins, a fine bead of acidity and good grip on the finish. This estate has been a little inconsistent of late, but this is certainly one of the better vintages that I have tasted from barrel. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
The 2020 Château La Garde is solid, offering medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of black cherry, cedarwood, and violets, with plenty of background oak. It has a slightly modern style, yet still packs plenty of classic character, good mid-palate depth, and notable length on the finish. It could end up being an outstanding wine, and it’s certainly a solid effort in the vintage. Rating: 89-91 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
Sappy; a little coffee edged, this is good and measured, with cassis. Easy to drink, powers down as these are pretty concentrated flavours for this estate - a reflection of the vintage. Drinking range: 2023 - 2038 Rating: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
Pretty dark berry, toasted oak and chocolate with some stone character. Medium body, round and lightly chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Fine tannins all the same. Shows intensity. Rating: 91-92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2021)
Château La Garde
Château La Garde is a medium-sized property with 47 hectares of vineyards in Pessac-Léognan, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. The Cabernet-dominated red wines are soft, well structured and packed with smooth, ripe fruit which makes them very attractive young, though they also possess good medium-term cellaring potential. Bought by the dynamic Bordeaux merchant Dourthe in the 1980s, this gem of an estate displays the true Graves minerality underneath an exuberant cassis-and-plums aroma. After huge initial investment in the vineyard and cellar immense care is now lavished upon the wine itself, and any re-assessment of the Pessac-Léognan classification would surely see this wine elevated to Cru Classé status
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 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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 2026. 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.