Château Marjosse 2020

Pierre Lurton unveils an aromatic and delicate red wine from Bordeaux

The estate

Built in 1782, Château Marjosse is an estate located in Entre-deux-Mers, on the right bank of Bordeaux. Initially owned by the wine merchant Bernard Chénier, Château Marjosse was acquired by the Deleuze family, who, in 1990, gave some plots to Pierre Lurton to rent. In 1992, Pierre Lurton, who grew up in Château Reynier, neighbour to this magnificent Chartreuse, moved to a second home in Château Marjosse and, over the successive years, bought several rooms from the Deleuze family. In 2000, Pierre Lurton had an ultramodern cellar containing more than 20 cement vats built and, in 2013, became the owner of the entire vineyard, as well as the Chartreuse.

The vineyard

The vineyard dedicated to red Marjosse production is 35 hectares. The vines, the oldest aged by 25 to 75 years, are located on exceptional clay-limestone soils.

The vintage

2020 was a very early vintage. A wet spring preceded an exceptionally hot and dry summer, encouraging quick and even ripening. The harvested grapes unveil a great richness in polyphenols; extractions are controlled so as to strike a balance between concentration and freshness, characteristic of the great clay-limestone terroirs.

The winemaking and ageing

In 2017, Pierre Lurton hired Jean-Marc Domme as technical director. Pierre Lurton introduced, for the first time in history, plot-separated winemaking and the creation of micro-cuvées in limited quantities from grapes from the most notable plots, so as to convey the characteristics and the microclimate of each one. Harvested early in the morning and sorted, the grapes are subject to cold, pre-fermentation macerations (4 to 5 days). Carried out in a plot-based manner, winemaking takes place without sulphur to emphasise the aromatic purity of the wine. Following alcoholic fermentation, a selection of the finest lots undergoes malolactic fermentation in 400-litre barrels, the rest aged on fine lees in thermoregulated concrete vats.

The blend

This 2020 red Château Marjosse is made of a blend of Merlot (80%), Cabernet Franc (10%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6%) and Malbec (4%).

The tasting

This wonderfully powerful 2020 Château Marjosse seduces with its dense, black colour, as well as its nose with delicate notes of ripe red fruits and liquorice.