CHÂTEAU MARQUIS DE TERME
2020 4ème Cru Classé Margaux
This has aromas of graphite, blackcurrants, blackberries, walnuts and mint chocolate. It’s focused and full-bodied with a frame of polished, firm tannins. All wonderfully integrated and persistent. Firm and fine. Try after 2025. Rating: 94-100 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.
The 2020 Marquis de Terme is one of the best offerings from this Margaux estate in recent years. It has a lively and well-defined bouquet with blackcurrant, wild strawberry and pencil box scents, perhaps a little Pauillac in style. The palate is medium-bodied with grip and backbone, well balanced and poised, I appreciate the salinity of this Marquis de Terme and the manner in which it discretely persists on the finish. Classy. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Extracted and dark and loaded with correspondingly aggressive tannins, this is a sour wine and one which is all but impossible to appreciate. The oak is all-dominant, too, and while it seems like it is built for the long run, the fruit will not be up to this challenge. Rating: 15.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Marquis de Terme is a bit firm, but it offers good depth in its red cherry/red plum fruit. It will be interesting to see if the 2020 becomes more charming over time. Today, it is a bit brutish. Graphite, scorched earth, dried flowers and incense add aromatic nuance with a bit of time in the glass. Tasted three times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2040 Rating: 89-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Marquis de Terme has a focused, delineated nose, vibrant blackberry and raspberry fruit mingling with tobacco and light incense aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, fine acidity, gentle grip and a touch of dark chocolate and mint toward the finish. This deserves 4–5 years in bottle, and it should end up at the top of my banded score. Fine. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
Lots of meaty red and black fruits, scorched earth, leather, and background oak dominate the nose of the 2020 Château Marquis De Terme. A medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced, beautifully pure Margaux, it has impressive tannins and the class to benefit from at least 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for over two decades. Rating: 91-93 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
The 2020 Marquis de Terme sports a deep garnet-purple color and pronounced notes of blackcurrant cordial, blackberry preserves and kirsch, plus suggestions of bay leaves, forest floor, black truffles and hoisin. The medium-bodied palate is soft and juicy, delivering a good amount of ripe black fruits without heaviness, finishing with a spicy kick. This blend is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. It is aging for 18 months in French oak barriques, 50% new. The alcohol is 14%. Drinking range: 2024 - 2037 Rating: 90-92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)
Cassis, bilberry, chocolate, mocha and pepper. Good, austere, tight, mint leaf on the close of play. This has depth of expression, the fruit has been carefully extracted to minimise what are still pretty ferocious tannins. A yield of 30hl/ha. Tasted three times and was impressed each time. Important to note that Marquis de Terme is one of the few Left Bank estates that does a final adjustment to the blend before bottling, although typically changes are only made to the second wine so this is likely to be at least extremely close to what will go into the final bottle. Drinking range: 2028 - 2044 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Very dark with purplish rim. Intense aroma of cassis and damson and although the notes of charry oak are evident, they blend in well with the fruit. This smells ripe and fragrant but not overly sweet, quite spicy. On the palate, the fruit is not quite as intense, the sinewy tannins and the oak dominating at the moment, leaving a dry, slightly charry aftertaste. A little bit severe. Drinking range: 2027 - 2033 Rating: 15.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)
Blackberry and blackcurrant with some licorice and tar on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with intense yet polished tannins and a long, beautiful finish. The quality of the tannins is an upgrade here. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2021)
Château Marquis de Terme
Château Marquis de Terme was once part of an enormous estate that took in Rauzan-Segla, Rauzan-Gassies and Desmirail too, but by the time François de Peguilham Marquis de Terme came to own it in 1762 the estate had broken up into the four constituents we know today. The Marquis gave his name to the estate, an aristocratic name that survived the Revolution. Along the way, Thomas Jefferson came to visit and praised the wines in his diary. At the 1855 classification, Marquis de Terme was awarded 4th Growth status. Marquis de Terme was purchased, in 1935, by the Sénéclauze family who own it today. Château Marquis de Terme sits in the village of Margaux, with Durfort-Vivens next door and the two Rauzans immediately to its south. Of the 39.5ha of vineyard, 60% are Cabernet Sauvignon all planted on fairly typical Médoc gravel soil, whilst the more clay parts of the estate are given over to Merlot, with a small planting of Petit Verdot. Vines average around 35 years old. Ever with an eye to the future, Marquis de Terme have been experimenting with organic viticulture; and they age a small proportion of their wine in concrete “eggs” to achieve the benefits of wood ageing without the wood.
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.