The 2020 Rouget is laced with lavish, inky fruit, cedar, tobacco, menthol, licorice, cedar and tobacco. Rich, sumptuous and alluring, Rouget is all about immediacy. Plush and silky, with soft contours and exceptional balance, Rouget delivers the goods, and then some. The forward, lush style is hugely appealing.

The 2020 Rouget was tasted from two half-bottles. Deep in color, it has an intense bouquet of black currant, tobacco and truffle shavings and an increasingly pronounced undergrowth scent. Compared to recent vintages that I have found a bit trop, this is much more focused and controlled. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannins and well-judged acidity, touches of dark chocolate infusing the black fruit. This is well balanced and fresh and though there is some new oak to be assimilated toward the finish, this is very promising Rouget that deserves 4–6 years in bottle.