Château Malartic Lagravière, 2020 - Magnum
Château Malartic Lagravière, 2020 - Magnum
- 150cl
- 14%
- Red Still
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
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Optimal drinking window: 2026 - 2048
Château Malartic Lagravière sits in Pessac-Léognan, that gravelly pocket of the southern Graves where the best reds and whites of Bordeaux's old heartland are made. This 2020, bottled in magnum no less, is a blend built on Cabernet Sauvignon's backbone with Merlot's flesh, Cabernet Franc's perfume and a dash of Petit Verdot for spice.
2020 was a vintage of real charm in Bordeaux, ripe but fresh, and this estate under the Bonnie family's careful hand has turned it into something properly serious.
Give it until 2026 and the cedar and graphite notes will start to knit together with the fruit into something more seamless. By the early 2030s expect genuine secondary complexity, leather, tobacco, dried flowers, with the magnum format slowing that whole process down beautifully.
What the critics say:
"Dark in color, the wine shows its blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate, smoke, espresso, and an array of spice aromas on the palate with ease. Rich, full-bodied, vibrant, and intense. the wine is fresh as well as lush, and polished. Vibrant, expansive, creamy, and deep, this is going to rival many of the best vintages produced here. Drink from 2025-2048."
"The 2020 Malartic-Lagravière, which represents just 40% of the total production, was cropped at 26hl/ha. It has a very delineated nose with intense blackberry, raspberry, sous-bois and incense aromas that just "sing" of Pessac-Léognan. The palate is medium-bodied, finely-knit tannins, fresh and vibrant with beguiling purity. Harmonious and silky smooth, it belies the depth and complexity of this marvellous Malartic. This is superb and it will mature beautifully in bottle."
Tasting Notes
AppearanceDeep garnet with a youthful purple-tinged rim.
NoseDark cherry and blackcurrant meet cedar, pencil shavings and a faint smoky graphite note. There's a floral lift of violets underneath, classic Cabernet Franc territory.
PalateFull-bodied and firmly structured, with ripe dark fruit carried on fine, grainy tannins. The gravel minerality shows through mid-palate, giving it a savoury backbone rather than pure fruit sweetness.
FinishLong, dry and mineral, with a lingering touch of cedar smoke.
Overall impressionA classically built Pessac-Léognan that rewards patience rather than haste.
Food Pairings
Around the Graves, this is the wine for roast pigeon or a properly rested leg of lamb studded with garlic, the kind of Sunday lunch that stretches into the evening. Locals might reach for duck breast with a dark cherry jus to echo the wine's own fruit, or a wedge of Comté to soften those tannins. Earthy dishes work well too, think wild mushroom risotto or a classic cassoulet, both standing up to the wine's savoury, graphite edge.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at 17-18°C, properly cool rather than room temperature in the old-fashioned centrally heated sense. Given the magnum format and the wine's youth, we'd decant for a good hour, maybe two, to let that gravel-and-cedar nose open out fully. A classic Bordeaux glass, generous in the bowl, will do it justice.
The vineyard sits on the deep gravel mounds that define the Graves, soil that drains fast and forces the vines to dig deep for water and minerals. This gravel also retains daytime heat, helping Cabernet Sauvignon ripen fully even in cooler years. The result is wine with real structure and a distinctive smoky, mineral lift that marks out the best of Pessac-Léognan.
Pessac-Léognan was carved out of the northern Graves in 1987, home to Bordeaux's oldest vineyards and some of its most gravelly, free-draining soils. Unlike the clay-heavy Médoc communes further north, wines here often show a distinctive smoky, earthy edge alongside the blackcurrant fruit. It's an appellation that produces both serious reds and some of Bordeaux's finest dry whites, with Malartic Lagravière doing both rather well.
The 2020 Bordeaux vintage began with one of the wettest winters on record, followed by a scorching summer that nearly broke temperature records across the region. What could have been a disaster became salvation: those deep winter water reserves carried the vines through the heat, while the dry conditions from July onwards concentrated flavours beautifully. The harvest started early and moved quickly, with most châteaux picking under ideal September skies.
We find 2020 Bordeaux surprisingly charming for such a hot year - the wines show ripe, generous fruit without the baked character you might expect. The Merlot-based Right Bank wines are particularly successful, displaying plush damson and blackberry flavours with enough freshness to keep them lively. Cabernet Sauvignon on the Left Bank delivers power and concentration, though some properties struggled more than others with the heat. Most 2020s are drinking beautifully now - this isn't a vintage that demands decades of patience, and we rather like that about it.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Dark cherry and blackcurrant with cedar, graphite and a savoury, mineral finish, firmly structured rather than plush.
What food should I pair it with?
Roast lamb, duck with a dark fruit jus, or something earthy like wild mushroom risotto all suit it well.
How should I serve it?
At 17-18°C, decanted for an hour or two, in a classic large-bowled Bordeaux glass.
Is this wine worth cellaring?
Very much so. The magnum format and the structure of the 2020 vintage mean this has decades ahead of it.
Why is it in magnum?
Magnums age more slowly and gracefully than standard bottles, ideal for a wine built for the long haul like this one.
OUR GROWERS
Château Malartic Lagravière
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