James spoke with Philippe Bascaules of Chateau Margaux on April 16, about the 2020 Bordeaux vintage, which so far has provided excellent wines, on a par with 2018 and 2019. Bascaules noted that the grapes were slightly smaller than in 2019. “We knew that the yields would be slightly lower in 2020,” he said, adding that the flowering was two weeks early. But the big event in grape growing in 2020 was the very dry summer. “We had intense drought for two months. I don’t think we have ever seen that. For 50 days, we had no rain.”
His wine, the 2020 Chateau Margaux, was the best en primeur sample James had tasted at the time of tasting, describing it as a “wonderful combination of refinement and power.”
Check out the video for more details from their conversation and see the wine note below.
