Volcanic Wine Awards | The Jancis Robinson Story

Bordeaux 2020 four years on – left-bank reds

Thursday 15 February 2024 • 7 min read
Bdx 2020 left-bank bottles

In her final report from the Southwold tasting, Julia reviews the wines of the left bank, where Cabernet Sauvignon is king. For background to the tasting, see Bordeaux 2020 revisited; see also Bordeaux 2020 four years on – whites and right-bank reds, and our guide to the 2020 vintage in Bordeaux.

The 116 wines are grouped by appellation as follows:

Within each group the wines are ordered alphabetically but you can reorder them by score if you wish.

Pessac-Léognan

Includes some old-vine Malbec, apparently.
Tasted blind. Deep...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Intense, fresh, peppery black fruit...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Lifted, ripe and oaky dark fruit...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Sweet and ripe but not raisined...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Smells ripe, sweet...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Charry and toasty oak over rich...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson with purplish rim. Darkly fragrant...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Leafy black fruit. Fresh, the...

Tasted blind. Dark core. A touch oaky/charry and dark but with...

Tasted blind. Very deep greyish crimson. Sweet cassis and...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Lots of pure dark fruit and just...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Perfumed with sweet black fruits...

Tasted blind. Very dark crimson. Pure, dark ripe black fruit...

Tasted blind. Deep to mid crimson. Dark cassis fruit is intense...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Leafy and open-hearted with fresh...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Scented and inviting. Black and dark...

Tasted blind. Inky crimson. Pure black fruit with a top note of...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Rich and open with red and black...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Smells ripe, dark and...

Tasted blind. Very dark crimson. Intense, pure black fruit, like...

Margaux

Tasted blind. Deepest crimson. Intensely aromatic with sweet...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Pure, lightly spicy...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Lifted dark-red fruit. Seductive and...

Tasted blind. Black core with purplish rim. Dark and savoury...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Ripe, sweet damson and blackcurrant...

Tasted blind. Deepest crimson. Fragrant with very slightly leafy...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Fragrant, lightly leafy. Leafy/lead...

Tasted blind. Very dark. Rich in black fruit. Really fragrant...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Black-fruited...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Dark-fruited, open and floral plus a...

Tasted blind. Darkest crimson. Sweetly fragrant with pure black...

Tasted blind. Very dark with black core. Dark, spicy black fruit...

Tasted blind. Black core. Dark, rich, ripe and really spicy...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Subdued and rather flat/dry on the...

Tasted blind. Black core with purplish rim. Fragrant with...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Dark and ripe with a...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Aromatic with small dark wild...

Tasted blind. Black core with purplish rim. Deep, dark fruit...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Sweet, fresh red and black fruits...

Tasted blind. Dark crimson. Spicy dark fruit while also fragrant...

Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Fragrant and red-fruited, touch of...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Both sweet (oaky) and leafy on the...

Moulis

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Smells dark, spicy and rich...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Dark-fruited and perfumed with...

Tasted blind. Deeply coloured. Aromatic and lightly leafy. Some...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Pure, dark cedary fruit. Firm...

Haut-Médoc

Tasted blind. Deeply coloured. Leafy black fruit. Pretty...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Fragrant, a touch leafy, the tannins...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Fresh dark and dark-red fruit, very...

Tasted blind. Very dark. Sweet and ripe, a bit like Ribena...

Tasted blind. Darkest crimson. Lightly cedary and intense black...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Toasty suggestion of oak over the...

Tasted blind. Very dark. Smoky, spicy black fruit with a touch...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Dark, riper and still on the savoury...

St-Julien

Tasted blind. Deep smudgy crimson. Open, lifted dark-red fruit...

Tasted blind. Deepest crimson. Sweet, ripe and oaky on the nose...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Ripe yet fragrant. Finely dry...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Intense aroma of pure...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Spicy, sweet yet fresh dark fruits...

Tasted blind. Black core with crimson rim. Perfumed with dark...

Tasted blind. Very dark crimson. Pencil lead and dark fruit...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Intense aroma of pure dark fruits...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Fragrant and slightly leafy aroma of...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Fragrant, spicy dark fruit with a...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Dark, pure and slightly leafy black...

Tasted blind. Black core with purplish rim. Smells rich, ripe...

Apparently, they are planning to drop Léoville from the name.
Tas...

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Ripe, dark and pretty oaky on the...

Tasted blind. Black almost to the rim. Dark, savoury and oaky on...

Tasted blind. Dark greyish crimson. Ripe, dark and spicy fruit...

Tasted blind. Deepest crimson. Leafy and open with cassis fruit...

Tasted blind. Deep greyish crimson. Very sweet aroma of red...

Tasted blind. Deep greyish crimson. Lifted with red and black...

Pauillac

...
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