CHÂTEAU LILIAN LADOUYS
2020 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel Saint Estèphe
Lovely impact. Broad sweep on the palate, with good density. Really sweet red fruits and very charming. Such a well composed feel in the mouth. Satisfying weight of fruit plums and rich red flesh. There is no over extraction - no hard lines, just a very lovely bottle of smart Bordeaux. The sheen of the Lorenzetti name and investment is clear in this release. A polished and impressive 2020.
Recommended as one for the cellar - this will be a treat to unearth in 10 years time.
The improved quality of the wine here is going hand in hand with their increased drive for sustainability and organic farming. This year lighter-weight bottles and cardboard cases are new developments in their fight to limit their impact on the environment. Bravo! (Merlot 59%, Cabernet sauvignon 37%, Petit Verdot 3%, Cabernet Franc 1%.)L&S (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.
This is a young 2020 that is back ended with a serious finish of solid and polished tannins and plenty of juicy fruit. Medium body. Racy structured. Excellent length at the end. Try after 2025. Rating: 92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
The 2020 Lilian Ladouys is a real charmer, just as it was from barrel. Silky, aromatic and nuanced, Lilian Ladouys presents a profile redolent of red fruit, cedar, spice and crushed flowers. This mid-weight Saint-Estèphe is just gorgeous. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Lilian Ladouys has a slightly subdued nose at first, gradually opens to reveal blackberry, spicebox and light mint aromas, though I would have liked a little more complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannins, fresh and tensile, rather strict with a lightly spiced, graphite tinged finish. This might have just shut up shop post-bottling so I would give it 4-5 years in bottle. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
This is a good effort from Lilian Ladouys and it not only shows firm, ripe fruit but also classy tannins and the oak is already showing signs of being controlled by the fruit and not the other way around. The nose is especially impressive and I expect that this will be a real surprise in 2020 when all is said and done. Rating: 16.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Lilian Ladouys is deep, fleshy and super-expressive. This midweight, gracious Saint-Estèphe has so much to offer. Silky tannins and bright aromatics complement a core of bright red fruit in the 2020, a gorgeous wine that will drink well right out of the gate. As always, this Merlot-driven Saint-Estèphe offers quite a bit of immediacy. This is the first vintage in the conversion to organic farming. Warm temperatures caused concentration on the vine, especially for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields at the property were 45 hectoliters per hectare as opposed to the normal 52 or so. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Lilian Ladouys offers light blackberry, raspberry and sous-bois scents on the nose, although to my recollection, the previous two vintages demonstrated a little more fruit intensity. The medium-bodied palate offers grainy tannins and fine acidity. Quite peppery, especially toward the finish, with bay leaf and tea leaf notes infusing the black fruit. Classic Saint-Estèphe in style. This should drink well for 12–15 years. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
This estate continues to deliver the goods, and the 2020 Château Lilian Ladouys is another smoking wine readers will love. Lots of ripe black fruits, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and damp earth give way to a medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, textured, beautifully balanced red that will drink well for 20 years or more. Rating: 92-94 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
Juicy, well balanced, plenty of personality, with enough juice through the mid palate to balance out the big tannins that are pretty inescapable in any wines of ambition in 2020. The finish closes in sharply, but this is an enjoyable wine from the Lorenzetti-owned Lilian Ladouys (and for me one of the clear leaders of the new Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel category). 35% new oak, harvest September 15 to 30, 78% first wine. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
A very pretty, medium-bodied wine with fine tannins, lovely fruit and a creamy finish. Nicely integrated for the vintage in this appellation. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2021)
Château Lilian Ladouys
This lovely Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel in Saint Estèphe enjoys an enviable location on the Cos plateau, near to Calon, Montrose and Cos d'Estournel itself. The 80 hectare vineyard is 80% on gravel with a clay-limestone base, 20% on limestone-clay and is planted at 8500-10000 vines per hectare, with 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc.
The history of the estate can be traced back as far as 1654, when the property was in the ownership of Jacques de Bercoyan, a Bordeaux magistrate. By this time it was already known as La Doys, an obvious precursor to the Ladouys name of today.
The exciting modern history of the property began in 2008 when it was bought by Jacky Lorenzetti, and the family's investment was rewarded with the Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel classification in 2018. Since the purchase there has been many more deals to consolidate a coherent vineyard from the many parcels.
Lilian Ladouys is managed by Emmanuel Cruse, the consultant oenologist is Eric Boissenot. The work in the vineyard aims to make sure there is an even spread of bunches on the vines, and that these are well-ventilated (leaf-thinning). The earth is ploughed, with either sowing of ground-cover between the vines, or leaving nature to its own devices, depending on the vigour of each parcel. The grapes are harvested by hand, with sorting as bunches and again by grape after the de-stemming, after which the they go into the vats by gravity for a cold maceration prior to the fermentation. Extraction is managed by gentle délestage. The wine is aged in barrel, with 40% new wood each year.
The vineyard certified 'Haute Valeur Envionmentale' level 3. From 2020 they began conversion to organics with 20% of the vineyard, and all being well will complete conversion in 2023.
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.