Chateau Pibran 2020
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A firm and fresh red with blackcurrants and chocolate. Hazelnut. Medium to full body. Blueberries. Crushed stone. Extremely well done. Better after 2026.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon that saw 50% new oak, the 2020 Château Pibran is a classic wine in the vintage that has a pure, layered, medium to full-bodied style as well as textbook notes of darker berries, cassis, irone, and tobacco. With ripe tannins, a good spine of acidity, and plenty of texture, it's going to evolve for 15-20 years in cold cellars.
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Decanter
Fresh nose, violet, mint, dark chocolate and blackcurrants - nicely aromatic. Slightly grainy tannins give the grip here, setting the frame in the mouth and giving the structure. It’s relatively tense, slightly coiled, but with a lovely sleekness to it. You can feel the power here, the limestone salinity giving it a focus and a sense of straightness to the expression but deep too. Lots of blackcurrant and black cherry flavours. I love the juiciness, you get the energy with a menthol, aerated quite wide finish. Feels well worked with excellent depth and length. A wine with great promise. 18 months ageing, 50% new, 50% one year old.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and lush in feel, with a copious mix of cassis, plum and blackberry fruit gliding through easily. The finish, which has nice definition, is dotted with subtle savory and tobacco hints. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of cassis, raw cocoa, licorice and loamy soil introduce the 2020 Pibran, a medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety wine framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. Rating: 90+
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is ripe and smooth, with red fruits and great juiciness. The structure is hidden in the ripe fruits. This wine will age relatively quickly.
Other Vintages
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Dunnuck
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Dunnuck
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Dunnuck
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Enthusiast
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Suckling
James
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Enthusiast
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Suckling
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Spectator
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Enthusiast
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Suckling
James -
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Robert
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
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One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.