Château Laroque 2020

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

The Wine Independent

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Espresso, black cherry, licorice, coffee bean, chocolate and plum liqueur fill the perfume. The wine is rich, opulent, deep and fresh on the palate with layers of lushly-textured, black plums, chocolate, blueberries and blackberries. Perfectly balanced, hedonistic, concentrated and vibrant, with a long, expansive finish, this is in contention for the best vintage produced at Laroque yet. Drink from 2023-2042.

James Suckling

Aromas of sweet berries with herbs, wet earth and moss undertones as well as fresh mushrooms. Medium- to full-bodied with ultra-fine and creamy tannins and a lovely finish. It’s polished and refined. Drink after 2025, but already very pretty.

Jeb Dunnuck

From an estate that has been on an incredible run of late, largely due to the talents of director David Suire, the 2020 Château Laroque shows the cooler, limestone-driven style of the terroir beautifully and has a clean, focused style in its darker (almost blue) berry fruits as well as chalky minerality, violets, spice, and floral nuances. Medium-bodied on the palate, this focused, straight, remarkably pure Saint-Emilion has terrific mid-palate depth and a great finish. It needs to be hidden in the cellar for a solid 4-5 years if possible and is going to have 30 years of longevity. If drinking any time soon, give it an hour in a decanter.

Decanter Magazine

Ripe, juicy and so seductive. This is delicious, a gorgeous texture of just grainy tannins giving the structure and the frame while crushed stone, salty black fruits give the flavour. Edges of liquorice and clove are present giving the sense of oak but they combine to the whole rather than sticking out overtly. A really impressive wine with bite, grip and interest. Youthful and high-toned, this is serious, it's not a wine for the faint hearted, but expertly positioned and presented.

Lisa Perrotti Brown

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2020 Laroque has turned out nicely, bursting with aromas of cherries, minty blackberries, licorice and bay leaf. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, with good depth at the core, chalky but refined tannins and a saline finish, it's another strong performance for this rising star of Saint-Émilion.

David Suire, Nicolas Thienpont's longtime right-hand man at the likes of Pavie Macquin and Larcis-Ducasse, is resurrecting one of Saint-Émilion's sleeping giants in the form of Château Laroque. Some 60 hectares are under vine today, in the commune of Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, with more to come; but in the early 20th century, the estate was allowed to lie almost entirely fallow (the advantage being that they're largely virus-free). Laroque itself represents less than 50% of the production, permitting exigent selection, and winemaking is thoughtful, with fruit from clay soils matured in classic 225-liter barriques, while blocks from soils richer in limestone are matured in larger barrels, foudres and oak tanks. Much of those clay soils end up in the second wine, Les Tours de Laroque, which is fleshier and more immediate than Laroque itself. With the 2019 vintage, things are really beginning to get interesting at this address, so it's a name to watch.