Château Sainte-Marie Pomerol 2020. NEW.
60% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. 18-month maturation: 30% new oak barrels, 60% 1-year-old oak barrels, 10% clay amphora.
The vineyard covers a tiny 3.7 hectares, which gives around 60 to 80 barrels of wine each year.
The significant proportion of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon (40% when taken together) give Ch. Sainte-Marie a fabulous “Left Bank” elegance, i.e. Cabernet-influenced like the wines of the Médoc estuary on the Left Bank of the Gironde estuary, which is rare to see in Pomerol where stark Merlot-dominant opulence is more common.
Château Sainte-Marie is currently undergoing a complete transformation that is being guided by Saint-Émilion and Pomerol experts Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife Murielle who is in charge of this “renaissance” project. And because The Other Bordeaux has been working with the Thunevins for some time, we have the unique opportunity to follow this transformation that began with the cracking 2020 vintage. Because the Thunevins are staging the transition to the new era gradually, the 2020 represents the unique opportunity to see the first year when the wine quality at this estate went through the roof but with the ability to buy it at the old/pre-transformation prices (the price for Ch. Sainte-Marie Pomerol went up over 20% the following vintage). I am thrilled to have got in early with this new-old estate and to be able to share the benefits with you.
Ultra-lifted perfume, concentrated and fruit-driven at heart but with a billowing halo of feather-light complexity. The fruit core is all black currants and blueberry jam, while the complexing aura is gently woody and smoky. The palate is full but fine, firmly structured with great future potential but with indulgent drink-now suppleness.
14% ABV.
Drink now to 2035+
