Château d'Issan 2020

A rich red wine from Margaux with great finesse

The estate

Château d’Issan is a Bordeaux estate renowned since the 12th century. This great Margaux wine has been elevated to the height of its potential by the Lorenzetti family, who also own estates in Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac, together with the Cruse family.

The vineyard

The 59-hectare vineyard of Château d'Issan covers three appellations. Most of the vineyard is planted in hills of gravel and alluvial soil in Margaux.

The vintage

The mild conditions of the winter season, the warmest recorded since the beginning of the 20th century, led to an early budding of the vines. While the sunshine and warm temperatures of March and April favoured a rapid flowering, the late spring was very rainy. A dry and sunny month of July marked the beginning of veraison on July 7. The rainy days of mid-August did not affect the vigour or the health of the vineyard. The late season conditions were ideal, particularly the thermal amplitudes, which helped to refine the ripeness and achieve an optimal balance of grapes. The latter showed very good concentration.

Vinification and ageing

Following a manual harvest, the grapes were delicately transported by gravity to the vat, where a plot-by-plot vinification took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Ageing was carried out in barrels (50% of which were new oak barrels).

The blend

The Château d'Issan 2020 was made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (39%), Cabernet Franc (3%), Petit Verdot (2%) and Malbec (1%).

The tasting

Exquisitely rich, the Château d'Issan 2020 embodies the quintessence of the Margaux terroir. This is a very elegant vintage, which seduces with its accuracy and its aromas of gourmet fruit, beautifully blended with subtle, mouth-coating tannins. The finish is persistent and beautifully voluptuous.