CHÂTEAU MONTLANDRIE

The 2020 Montlandrie, the Durantou family's Côtes de Castillon, is fabulous. It is another very serious wine in this range. A core of dark Merlot fruit gradually opens, releasing complicating notes of spice, leather, incense and licorice. There's real depth and gravitas. A few years in the cellar seem prudent, as there is a lot of wine here. The purity of the flavors is just striking. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

Intense and concentrated, blueberry and blackberry fruits lifted by strands of saffron and oyster shell, austere on the finish, good stuff. 40% new oak, harvest September 18 to 25, 45hl/ha yield, 3.6ph. Noemie Durantou winemaker alongside Olivier Gautrat. Drinking range: 2023 - 2038 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)

The 2020 Montlandrie is one of the more showy wines from the Durantou's this vintage. It is quite plush and sensual with scents of crème de cassis, crushed violet and a hint of star anis. Nicely defined, though their Lalande-de-Pomerols demonstrate a little more class. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fleshy and generous, a little sweeter than the Les Cruzelles with a pure, quite intense finish. Fine - it just needs a couple of years in bottle. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

This is another lovely Montlandrie and it is grainy, plush, full-fruited and the deepest purple. The texture is chewy and savoury and while it seems rather backward on the face of it, the fruit is already rather pliable. I imagine it will start drinking younger than most vintages of this wine and then hold nicely. Rating: 17+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Montlandrie is powerful, densely constituted and full of character. Inky red/purplish fruit, cedar, spice, mocha and dried flowers are all laced together. Far from an easygoing wine, it packs a serious punch, and I expect it will age wonderfully. In 2020, the Montlandrie may very well be the hidden gem in the Durantou range. (This is the second year in the new winery.) Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 91-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Montlandrie was picked September 18–25 and matured in 40% new oak. It has an exuberant, ripe bouquet, a mixture of red and blueberry fruit, crushed violets and potpourri aromas surfacing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, sweet and sensual, although I find less complexity on the finish compared directly with its siblings, La Chenade and Les Cruzelles. Still, this will give several years of drinking pleasure. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

The 2020 Montlandrie is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot was picked between the 18th and the 22nd of September, and the Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon were picked from the 23rd to the 25th of September. It has an alcohol of 14.5% and is aging in French oak barrels, 40% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts from the glass with vibrant notes of crushed blackberries, fresh, juicy black plums and mulberries, plus hints of bay leaves, cardamom, ground black pepper and black truffles. The medium to full-bodied palate possesses impressive freshness with a solid backbone of soft, rounded tannins and bags of ripe black fruits, finishing long with a peppery kick. Drinking range: 2025 - 2039 Rating: 92-94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)

Denis Durantou estate up on the limestone plateau of Castillon, now vinified by his daughter Noémie Durantou. Deeply coloured, ruby in colour with fleshy fruit, not giving a whole lot away right now, but this is a fairly discreet vintage in many ways. The dominant impression is of a rough linen and wet stone texture that reflects its limestone soils. Width and depth as it opens in the palate, serious for now but with plenty to give. A yield of 45hl/ha. 3.6pH. Drinking range: 2023 - 2035 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

Very salty and tangy with some white pepper, too, as well as lots of blackberries and blueberries. Medium body with delicate yet firm tannins that show intensity. Firm finish. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2021)