CHÂTEAU SANSONNET
2020 Grand Cru Saint Emilion
Notes of ripe blackberries and blueberries with black licorice, tree bark, chocolate and moist earth. Medium- to full-bodied and dense. It has layers of ultra-fine tannins wrapping up the deep core of dark fruit. Structured and velvety with a long finish. Try after 2026.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 Sansonnet is one of the best wines here in recent memory. Ample and explosive in feel, the 2020 offers up copious dark fruit, chocolate, spice and new leather notes. There's not much subtlety, but I don't think it matters much. This full-throttle, unabashedly opulent Saint-Émilion is lights out. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Exuberant and succulent, dark ruby in colour, with full-on but well-balanced extraction that ensures big tannins, concentrated black fruits and a gourmet edge of cocoa bean and liqourice. Marie Benedtice Lefévère owns this 7ha estate. Jean-Philippe Fort consultant, 30hl/ha yield. The Lefevre family are ones to watch in St-Emilion right now, with their recent investments into Villemaurine and Valandraud. Drinking range: 2025 - 2042 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Sansonnet has a powerful nose, ripe black cherries, cassis and pressed violet aromas, and touches of orange zest. It has not the delineation I was hoping for from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied but quite muscular on the entry, though the acidity is well judged, and it obtains more detail and elegance towards the citrus-driven finish. There is a bit of rigidity here that needs to become more malleable with time. Give this 4-5 years in bottle. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2028 - 2050 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Sansonnet is once again terrific in 2020. It offers up copious inky dark fruit, chocolate, blackberry jam, spice, mint, licorice and espresso. As always, this is a big, extroverted Saint-Émilion built on richness and texture. The oak needs time to fully integrate, but it always has in the past. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 93-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Sansonnet has a tightly wound nose that opens nicely with aeration, revealing blackberry and wild hedgerow, light rose petal and iris scents and a touch of potpourri; the oak is very well assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with a sapid entry and lightly spiced with a dash of white pepper. A classically-styled Saint-Émilion that continues a strong run of form for the estate. Excellent. Drinking range: 2028 - 2050 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
Always a gem in the vintage, the 2020 Château Sansonnet is another winner offering a terrific bouquet of red, black, and blue fruits as well as tobacco, violets, and classy oak. Possessing full-bodied richness, a pure, seamless, polished texture, terrific tannins, and a great finish, this rock star of a Saint-Emilion will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades or more. Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
Good stuff, plenty of character, making this enjoyable right from the start. Less subdued and subtle than some but it carries it off, with brambled hawthorn-tinged fruits, with density and depth, but a limestone kick that picks things up through the finish. One to give yourself over to. A yield of 30hl/ha. The Lefevre family are also ones to watch in St-Emilion right now, with their recent investments into Villemaurine and Valandraud. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
A powerful and intense red with blackberry, blueberry and ultra fine chewy tannins. It’s so long and energetic. Dense center palate. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2021)
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.