The combination of powerful tannins and equally generous black fruits is a fine harbinger for this wine's development. Big, bold and juicy with a dense structure, the wine is for longterm aging.

The 2020 Lilian Ladouys is a real charmer, just as it was from barrel. Silky, aromatic and nuanced, Lilian Ladouys presents a profile redolent of red fruit, cedar, spice and crushed flowers. This mid-weight Saint-Estephe is just gorgeous.

Juicy, well balanced, plenty of personality, with enough juice through the mid palate to balance out the big tannins that are pretty inescapable in any wines of ambition in 2020. The finish closes in sharply, but this is an enjoyable wine from the Lorenzetti-owned Lilian Ladouys (and for me one of the clear leaders of the new Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel category).

Seemingly always terrific, the 2020 Château Lilian Ladouys shows the class of the vintage and has a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, yet silky, perfectly balanced style with tons to love. Darker fruits, damp earth, truffle, and beautiful spice-driven aromatics define this beauty, and while it's already accessible, I'm sure will evolve gracefully for 10-15 years.

The 2020 Lilian Ladouys offers up aromas of cassis, licorice and a deft touch of creamy new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rather rich and broad palate framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. It's a touch more structured than the demonstrative 2019 and will require a little patience.