CHÂTEAU LES GRANDES MURAILLES

There is a slight sense of greenness here which is surprising given the prodigious alcohol level, but it punctures the fruit and rather flattens the Merlot flavours. The oak is drying and this also manages to deaden the Merlot fruit. While I am tempted to come down hard on this wine, I can taste lovely foresty fruit notes right in the heart of this wine and so I will give it the benefit of the doubt, but it will take a jolly long time for this fruit to win the fight against the tannins and the oak! Rating: 17+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Les Grandes Murailles is fabulous. Rich, effusive and vibrant, it possesses terrific energy and plenty of verve. A whole range of floral and spice notes opens first as this chiseled, finely sculpted Saint-Émilion gradually unfolds in the glass. A wine of reserve and character, the Les Grandes Murailles is shaping up to be a gem. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Les Grandes Murailles was picked September 15–18 at 38hl/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a precocious bouquet of intense red berries, raspberry confit, touches of humidor and a touch of orange peel. The palate is medium-bodied with a little chewiness on the entry. This is quite a solid Les Grandes Murailles, very saline in the mouth, leading to a grippy, slightly tarry finish. Broody at the moment. I suspect this will require 4–5 years in bottle before it shows what it is capable of. Drinking range: 2026 - 2050 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

An estate readers need to have on their radar (as well as their buy list) is the 2020 Château Les Grandes Murailles, which comes from a great, yet tiny terroir situated next to Clos Fourtet. All Merlot, it offers medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of mulled cherries, blue fruits, cassis, and graphite, with some hints of scorched earth in the background. With beautiful purity, a layered, elegant texture, and just about flawless tannins, it’s a remarkable Saint-Emilion readers will love. It should keep for 15-20 years. Rating: 93-95 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

Intense aromatics of baked earth and perky white pepper and sage. Sappy, high in bilberry, loganberry and freshly cut herbs on the attack with a clear limestone influence that keeps things moving forward through the palate, but this needs time to move past the austerity. 6,500 bottles of this wine produced, owned by Mathieu Cuvelier. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

100% Merlot Dark purplish crimson. Tight knit, rather stony nose and then masses of sweet fruit on the palate with marked acidity on the end. Quite hard work on the finish at the moment but at least there is ripe fruit as well as all that acid and tannin. Still pretty unresolved but it will probably get there. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 16+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)