Château Monbousquet Château Monbousquet Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2022 750ml

The 2020 Château Monbousquet is lights-out good, offering a full-bodied, concentrated, opulent profile as well as notes of ripe black cherries, cassis, chocolate, and leafy herbs. With terrific purity, velvety tannins, and incredible richness as well as a remarkable sense of freshness, it’s going to evolve for 15+ years in cold cellars. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2022 Château Monbousquet is blockbuster stuff. It might not be for the classic traditionalists out there, but it's a “wow” wine for sure. Darker currants, chocolate, tobacco, crushed stone and graphite define the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with a deep, layered, opulent mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. It's a blockbuster yet seamless, layered, flawlessly balanced Monbousquet that, in my opinion, rivals any vintage of this cuvée ever produced. Drink bottles over the coming two decades.

Very tight and linear with blackberries, chocolate and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied. Linear. Racy and pretty. Drinkable but better in three or four years. (James Suckling)

This drips with boysenberry, mulberry and blackberry confiture notes that just won't quit, spilling out in all directions as singed apple wood, violet and licorice snap attempt to keep everything reined in. The seductive, velvety mouthfeel and a rather luxurious display of toast play their part as well. For those who enjoy the power style. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2027 through 2042.

The 2020 Monbousquet is a blend of 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming in with an alcohol of 14.69% and a pH of 3.75. It is aging in French oak barriques, 50% new. With a deep purple-black color, it prances out of the glass with showy scents of crushed black plums, mulberries and Morello cherries, plus touches of dried Provence herbs, charcoal and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers expressive black and red berry layers, framed by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a fragrant earth note.

The 2020 Monbousquet was cropped at 30hl/ha and underwent a five-week cuvaison and maturation in 50% new oak. Deep in color, it has an intense nose of multilayered black plum, loganberry, wild hedgerow and crushed violet scents. The new oak imparts a vanilla-y veneer, but that should be assimilated by the time this is bottled. The palate is medium-bodied with gritty tannins, quite a structured Monbousquet, the 15% Cabernet Sauvignon contributing graphite notes toward the fresh, seaweed-tinged, slightly bitter finish, which has a powdery texture. This is an intriguing Monbousquet made in a more classical style compared to recent vintages.