CHÂTEAU LE THIL
2020 Pessac-Léognan
The deep garnet-purple colored 2020 le Thil leaps from the glass with bolds scents of crushed black and red plums, mulberries and Morello cherries, plus wafts of cumin seed, lavender and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of crunchy black and red berries, framed by ripe, rounded tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with a skip in its step. The soil at Château le Thil is clay limestone, so it can behave a little more like a Right Bank site, as it certainly does this vintage. Drinking range: 2031 - 2040 Rating: 91-93 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (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.
Fine tannins with blackberries, currants and hints of hazelnut. It’s medium-bodied and linear with firmness and length. Needs three or four years to soften. Better after 2025. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2023)
The 2020 Le Thil is a gorgeous, enticing Merlot-based Pessac-Léognan from team at Smith Haut-Lafitte. Wild cherry, tobacco, cedar, mint and white pepper lend notable freshness to this very attractive, mid-weight 2020. Bright acids and lifted floral accents perk up the finish. There is a bit of nervousness in the tannin, but there always is here. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
From clay-limestone slopes with southern exposure, unsual for the appellation, more typical of St Emilion than Pessac Leognan. It gives a punch of spicy vibrant damson and red cherry fruit on the opening, then in come supple, firm and powerful tannins. Plenty of fresh acidities, this is excellent quality, with life and crunch, and good persistency on the close of play. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Le Thil Comte Clary, blended with 5% Cabernet Franc and cropped at 30hL/ha, has a lovely, very pure and charming bouquet with mulberry, maraschino cherry and veins of blue fruit. The palate is well balanced with grainy tannins, fine acidity, just a touch harder on the mid-palate than expected, though it should flesh out a little with a couple of years in bottle. Fine. Drinking range: 2024 - 2033 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
With bright red fruit and a touch of mint, this is a forward, juicy, friendly style of wine which is kept nicely in balance with fresh, crunchy acidity. Not particularly complicated, but rather tasty and pure, this is a safe bet for those of you I search of forward-drinking Pessac-Léognan wines in this vintage. Rating: 16 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
The Merlot-based 2020 Le Thil is absolutely gorgeous. Deep, inky and voluptuous, Le Thil captures all the natural radiance of the year in Pessac-Léognan. Blackberry jam, chocolate, spice, new leather and incense build as the 2020 shows off its curvy, racy personality. Pretty floral notes lift the finish. This clay/limestone property, unusual for Pessac-Léognan, performed brilliantly. The 2020 is one of the best recent vintages I can remember tasting. It's a total knock-out. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
Emerging from the team at Smith Haut Lafitte, the 2020 Château Le Thil offers impressive red and blue fruit supported by complex violet, spice, and creamy oak nuances. This up-front, fruit-loaded, decadent beauty displays the purity and freshness of the vintage, yet still brings serious fruit, ripe tannins, and a great finish It’s unquestionably going to be an outstanding wine. Rating: 91-93 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
Smoked earth, crayon and fleshy blackberry and raspberry fruits. The soils here are clay over limestone, a soil type that worked well in 2020, and although this is austere right now. Traces of peony and blackberry open up through the mid palate, but overall this has both tension and tannins, and is a successful wine from the Cathiard family. Drinking range: 2023 - 2036 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
A solid red with blackberry, chocolate and some dark-walnut character. It’s medium-bodied with pretty density and creamy tannins. Finesse and class here. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2021)
Château Le Thil
A very pretty little Château set in parkland, with 11 hectares of vines attached, on the top and south-facing slope of a clay-limestone hillock. The clay soil has prompted the planting of a high proportion of Merlot, and Florence Cathiard calls this 'the Pomerol of Pessac-Leognan'. The Cathiards of Smith Haut Lafitte bought the property in 2012, reuniting it with Smith, as it has previously been under the same ownership in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the two Châteaux were linked by a long drive. Viticulture is done in the same way as at Smith, using the Cathiards system of 'bio-precision'. This is a wine at a modest price which benefits from all the expertise of its great neighbour, and is excellent value.
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.