Wine Advisor
Le Bon Pasteur 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 Bon Pasteur needs a little swirling to release bright, vibrant notes of crushed black and red plums, boysenberries and black raspberries, plus hints of menthol, cedar chest and fertile loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid frame of grainy tannins and well-balanced acidity supporting the earth-laced, muscular black fruits, finishing on a lingering black pepper note.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Le Bon Pasteur has a ripe blackberry and bilberry nose, quite flamboyant yet just about maintaining delineation and focus. Time in bottle will temper it. The palate is medium-bodied with plush tannins, fleshy and ripe, dark chocolate infusing the black fruit with black pepper lending spice towards the finish. It will require three or four years in bottle. A second bottle showed a little more Cabernet expression, more graphite on the aftertaste.
About the Producer
Château Le Bon Pasteur is a Pomerol estate, known for both the lush, supple quality of its wine and its history as the family property of the renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland. The seven-hectare (16-acre) vineyard is located on the boundary with Saint-Émilion and has a wide range of soil types. It is planted predominantly to Merlot, with 15-20 percent Cabernet Franc – exact proportions are hard to measure as some plots are mixed. Some of the vines were planted in the 1950s. The grapes are harvested by hand, and are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. The wines are then aged in predominantly new French oak for around 18 months and bottled without fining or filtration. World-renowned winemaking consultant Michel Rolland took over the running of Le Bon Pasteur in 1978, although the estate had been in the family since 1920. It was sold to a Chinese investor in 2013, although Rolland remains as winemaker and estate manager.
