Chewy and very tannic with a solid depth of dark fruit, showing blackberry and currant character. Full and powerful. Real structure here.

Drink Date
2024 - 2042

Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Composed of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Marquis d'Alesme Becker is aging for approximately 18 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. Deep purple-black colored, it leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of mulberries, black cherries and blackcurrant pastilles, plus suggestions of underbrush, fallen leaves and violets. The medium-bodied palate is lively and refreshing, featuring a light touch of fine-grained tannins and just enough mid-palate red berry flavors, finishing savory.

The 2020 Marquis d'Alesme is potent and brooding right out of the gate. Iron, chalk, white pepper, cedar and tobacco add quite a bit of aromatic presence to the red-fleshed fruit. A driving, intense Margaux, Marquis d'Alesme is going to need time in bottle. Today, the tannins are pretty imposing in their searing intensity. Vinous.com

The 2020 Marquis d’Alesme was picked from 23 September to 2 October, a comparatively late start to the picking, 65% undergoing malo in barrel, matured in 50% new oak. The bouquet is very ripe with copious black cherries, raspberry preserve and cassis scents, not quite as delineated and poised as I found the 2019 last year. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, decent acidity, mainly black fruit laced with cedar and white pepper. On the finish, it just seems to taper rather than fan out, then cuts away rapidly. Not bad, but I find the 2018 and 2019 have greater potential. - vinous.com