2020 Chateau Cantemerle - Haut-Medoc HALF BOTTLE (375ml)

Château Cantemerle is one of the oldest wine estates in the Médoc, with records of the property as a lordship dating to the 12th century and wine production documented since 1354. The estate was famously left off the original 1855 Bordeaux Classification, only to be added as a Fifth Growth that September after owner Caroline de Villeneuve presented forty years of sales records to prove the wine's standing. Located near Macau and Ludon in the southern Haut-Médoc, the property has been owned by the SMABTP insurance group since 1981, which financed a major restoration of the vineyards and cellars.

The 2020 vintage is a blend built primarily around Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, rounded out with Cabernet Franc and a small portion of Petit Verdot, grown across gravel and silica soils on vines averaging several decades old. Yields were kept low that year, and the wine was aged in French oak barrels, about forty percent of them new, to build structure while letting the fruit remain the focus.

In the glass, the wine is deep garnet in color, with aromas of cassis, black raspberry, tobacco, and fragrant soil. The palate is medium bodied, with chewy, well-integrated tannins and a minerally finish. It pairs well with roast lamb, duck breast, or a hard aged cheese such as Gouda.