This is full-bodied with layers of fruit. Ripe and flavorful. Lots going on with a fleshy feel. No malolactic this year. Sweet peach, honeysuckle and citrus. Contrastive. 52% sauvignon blanc, 14% sauvignon gris and 34% semillon.

Composed of 52% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Sauvignon Gris and 34% Sémillon, the 2020 Aile d'Argent has no Muscadelle this year, no skin contact and no malolactic. It sails out of the glass with fabulously flamboyant notes of fresh pineapple, nectarines and jasmine, plus suggestions of key lime pie, passion fruit and orange zest. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers opulent tropical and citrus fruit layers, supported by plenty of freshness and a decadent touch of oiliness to the texture, finishing long and impactful. So hard to resist even at this nascent stage, I can't wait to see how this is going to age!

(66% SB, 34% SM; 13% ABV; 45% new)
Pale lemon; briskly ripe Sauvignon to smell, persistent and subtly mineral; rich, full, fresh, concentrated; dry but juicily ripe, racy and mouthcoating, its fullness very nicely contained and lengthened by its lively acidity; pure, mineral, complete, with a most rewarding complexity underlying the fruit and plushness. Wonderful Aile! Bottled under Diam since 2017. 2025–40+.

The 2020 Aile d’Argent was picked early, from August 24, to keep the acidity, with no skin contact and no malolactics in the final blend. The winemaking team used all the Sauvignon Gris to obtain richness, and the wine will be bottled in early June. It has an alluring, perfumed bouquet of honeysuckle, orange pith and lime scents, very well defined and the oak skillfully integrated. The palate is smooth in texture, displaying just the right amount of bitterness to lend edge on the entry, and quite tangy compared to recent vintages, featuring lime, melon and gooseberry notes, touches of lemongrass coming through toward the finish. Delicious.
- vinous.com

The 2020 Aile d'Argent is terrific. Aromatic and vibrant, it possesses terrific energy and a bit more verve than in the past. The blocked malo style works especially well in this vintage. The Sauvignon Blanc is quite expressive, especially in the wine's aromatic profile. Vinous.com

66% Sauvignon (Blanc and Gris), 34% Sémillon. Cask sample (to be bottled June 2021). Ripe and aromatic with citrus and tropical-fruit notes. Palate mellow and juicy with adequate freshness. Best drunk early and on the fruit. Good but pricey. (JL)

Tasted blind. Much riper-tasting than La Clarté de Haut-Brion. Pear and guava notes as well as oaky spice. Creamy and mealy, full-flavoured in the mouth, with rather smart oak on the palate. Taut, fresh, much more elegant on the finish than I suspected at the start. (JH)