VIEUX CHÂTEAU MAZERAT
2020 Saint Emilion
Dark-fruited and spiced character with plum skins, toasted cloves, crushed walnut and dark chocolate. Medium- to full-bodied with a meaty texture and fine, velvety tannins. Deep and dense palate with an array of black and blue fruit and a crunchy, polished finish. Drink from 2025. Rating: 94 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 Vieux Château Mazerat is a pretty big wine. Then again, it has bits from Les Asteries and Les Carres, neither of which was bottled separately in this vintage. A blast of black cherry, graphite, menthol, sage, licorice and incense races across the palate. This explosive, heady Saint-Émilion packs a serious punch. Give the virile tannins a few years to soften. Vieux Château Mazerat is not subtle, but it will delight readers who enjoy full-throttle wines. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
I have long enjoyed this wine, and if you do too, you should note a few changes from this vintage. It will now be made at Château Teyssier, leaving just Le Dôme produced at Foster-designed winery next to Château Angélus. The production of VCM will be increased at the same time, although still the heart will be from the old vines planted in 1947. There is less Cabernet Franc than usual bcause of the low yields in 2020. It remains an excellent quality wine, with supple tannins, plenty of fresh acidities, and plush damson fruits. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Vieux Château Mazerat, a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, has a pure bouquet of blueberry and crushed violet, though I would like to see a little more expression from the Cabernet Franc. The palate is well structured, with a gentle grip, quite sappy, with lighter tannins towards the slightly black peppered finish. This will need a bit of time to coalesce. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Vieux Château Mazerat is a bold, savory Saint-Émilion. Blackberry jam, chocolate, dried herbs, sage, mint and licorice all run through it. In 2020, it’s is a bit more nervy than usual. I would be prepared to cellar it for at least a few years. This is an especially taut style for Jonathan Maltus, but it works well. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 91-93+ Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Vieux Château Mazerat offers plenty of ripe black cherry, blueberry and crushed violets, all expressive and beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit on the entry and firm tannins, and quite saline toward the finish, which just needs to develop a little more delineation. At the moment, the aromatics show better than the palate, though they may change once in bottle. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
The 2020 Vieux Château Mazerat reveals a vivid purple hue to go with medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of cassis, blueberries, scorched earth, and graphite. While Maltus’s Le Dôme gets most of the attention, I continue to just love this wine, and it shines in 2020 with both beautiful fruit and ample structure as well as one heck of a great finish. I’m not sure this will match the 2018 or 2019, but we’re certainly in the same ballpark, with the style being much closer to the more elegant 2019. Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
This is a raucously intense wine that benefits greatly from its Cabernet Franc component, which was planted in 1947. Deep-fruited, inky black in colour, and yet crisp and lifted on the finish, this is a mighty VCM with a bounce in its step and this levity suits it extremely well. Rating: 18+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2021)
An opulent, sexy, rich wine, this is a clearly seductive, but quite different style from the Vieux Châtau Mazerat that I have loved in the past. Powerfully dense fruits with a stacked wall of tannins. There was some mildew impact this year, along with the low yields, so neither Le Carré or Les Asteries were produced, and the remaining grapes went in here (or at least the Merlot, with the Cabernet Franc going into Le Dôme - it is unclear if this is in fact to be a permanent arrangement). Last year it was closer to 35% Cabernet Franc so this is really a new look, and it is successful, but more expansive in feel. 80% new oak, 25hl/ha yields (they rarely go above 30hl/ha anyway). Harvest September 29 to October 9, made in the brilliant new cellar for Le Dôme. Drinking range: 2026 - 2042 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
A chewy, focused red with blackberry, blueberry and toasted-oak aromas and flavors. It’s medium-to full-bodied with savory fruit and a flavorful finish. Rating: 93-94 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 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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 2026. 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.