CHÂTEAU POTENSAC

The 2020 Potensac is a jewel of a wine. Bright acids give the 2020 notable energy that is immediately apparent. Crushed red berry fruit, blood orange, mint, rose petal, star anise and crushed rocks are all beautifully laced together. This finely cut, chiseled Médoc is a winner. I imagine it will age gracefully for a number of years to come. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

As I mentioned in my tasting note from barrel, the 2020 Potensac displays a little more opulence on the nose compared to other vintages. This is certainly true in bottle, though it retains a sense of composure, mainly red fruit laced with tobacco and a touch of leather. The palate is nicely balanced with fine tannins, crisp acidity, just a touch of licorice infusing the mixture of red and black fruit, a welcome tarriness imparting some classic Claret notes on the finish. A fine Potensac. Drinking range: 2025 - 2036 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

This was another wine made from particularly tiny berries and it is this concentration of skin to juice that has imbued in this wine so much class and depth of flavour. In addition, the rain which fell in August ‘unlocked the potential’ for this wine at exactly the correct time as well as refreshing the finish. This is a rare occasion of a Potensac that it both super-ripe and super-fresh and these traits are exactly what I look for in a truly great wine. Clean on the finish and soaked with elemental minerality, the viti-team here made a key decision to pick while the grapes still retained their site-specific DNA. Any riper and they would have lost their Potensac identity and with ancient Cabernet Franc and superbly suave Merlot bringing their respective perfume and tension to the party, this is one of the most refined and resonant Potensacs I have ever tasted. Rating: 17.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)