Château Cantemerle 2020, Haut-Médoc 5ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux

Château Cantemerle is the grand vin of the Fifth Growth estate at Macau in the southern Haut-Médoc, classified in 1855. The vines grow on gravel and sand soils, and the blend is led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Fermentation takes place in a mix of wooden conical vats, stainless steel and concrete, and the wine is then aged for 12 to 16 months in French oak barrels, 40 to 50% new depending on the vintage.

Château Cantemerle Haut-Médoc is known for its elegance. Expect redcurrant, blackcurrant and red cherry on the nose, with notes of tobacco leaf, cedar and dried earth. The palate is medium to full bodied with silky, finely woven tannins, fresh acidity and a fragrant, lingering finish.

This is a lovely partner for roast beef, lamb with rosemary, venison casserole or duck with a cherry sauce, and it also suits mature Cheddar or Gouda. Serve at 16–18°C, decanting for an hour if young. Château Cantemerle opens up from around five years after the vintage and good years will keep and develop for 15 years or more.

Château Cantemerle stands in Macau, at the southern end of the Haut-Médoc, surrounded by a wooded park. Vines were grown here as far back as 1354, and a true vineyard was developed in the late 16th century by the Villeneuve family, who held it for about three centuries. Cantemerle was added to the 1855 Classification as a Fifth Growth (5ème Cru Classé) in 1856. The Dubos family owned it from 1892, and since 1981 the insurance group SMABTP has invested heavily in the vineyard and cellars. Today the estate covers around 90 hectares of sandy gravel, and its wines are admired for their finesse, fragrance and silky texture rather than sheer power.