Château Talbot, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2020

Name: Château Talbot, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien
Brand: Château Talbot
Price: 106.98 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2004 2014 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

Jean-Michel Laporte is clearly delighted with his 2020 vintage at Talbot. The blend represents the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend ever with 76%, the balance being made up with 21% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. There’s a nicely perfumed bouquet of dark earthy fruit, cigar box, smoke, clove and graphite. On the palate there’s plenty of satisfying, clear blackcurrant and liquorice – one really feels the quality of the Cabernet Sauvignon – there is more gravitas and concentration than Talbots of old. It finishes with notes of black tea and shaved chocolate, suggesting there is good future ahead.

critic reviews

94/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2020 Talbot was corked on the first bottle. The second has a refined and focused bouquet, with more black fruit than its peers. Cedar and light minty notes impart a Pauillac-like personality. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, fine delineation, lovely poise and a sorbet-fresh, high-toned finish. This appears to have meliorated since I tasted it just after bottling, hence the higher score. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

DRINKING WINDOW 2030 - 2065

date of review 11/2024

94/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Coffee bean and smoked tobacco edging as I found with the Connetable 2020, followed up by precision-cut black cherry and cassis fruits. Great balance, gunsmoke and tomato leaf, an excellent follow up to the 2019, reflecting the intense work happening in the vineyard at this point. As you sit with this the generosity of the first moments takes a back seat to the grip and savoury St Julien balance, take you time and enjoy the crayon and slate on the finish. 60% new oak for ageing, Jean-Michel Laporte director.

DRINKING WINDOW 2026 - 2044

date of review 04/2024

90/100William Kelley,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2020 Talbot exhibits aromas of cassis and plums mingled with hints of clove, violets and toasty new oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a rich core of fruit, powdery tannins and lively acids, it's quite strongly marked by its elevage out of the gates, and it's an open question for me as to whether there's enough depth here to integrate the barrel program and reassert its Saint-Julien identity. On each of the three occasions I tasted it, it left me wanting more.

DRINKING WINDOW 2026 - 2050

date of review 04/2023

90/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

The 2020 Talbot has a deep garnet-purple color. It sings of black cherries, fresh red and black plums, and blackcurrant preserves, followed by hints of spice cake, wild thyme, and cedar chest. The medium-bodied palate is chewy and refreshing, with just enough bright fruit and a lifted finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2037

date of review 03/2023