Red Bordeaux Blend Wine

Château de Ribebon Bordeaux Supérieur — Bordeaux, France 2020

Château de Ribebon has one of the more remarkable backstories in Bordeaux — the estate was formerly a hunting lodge for King Louis XVI, and today it is part of the distinguished Aubert family portfolio, one of the most respected names in the region. Farmed from 40-year-old vines and crafted in the classic Petit Château tradition, Ribebon represents exactly what Bordeaux Supérieur does best: honest, terroir-driven wine at an accessible price, made with the same care and philosophy as estates that cost far more. The 2020 vintage is widely regarded as one of Bordeaux's finest of the last decade.

The wine pours a deep ruby. The nose is inviting and well-defined — juicy black fruits, blackcurrant, plum, spice, and a touch of toast from careful oak aging. On the palate, it's structured and well-balanced with a savory, slightly earthy character, medium-to-full body, and a smooth mouthfeel. Still young and developing, it rewards patience — best from 2025 onward, but approachable now with decanting.

"A well-balanced wine, structured and still young. Spice and toast as well as juicy black fruits. The wine is on its way, but should not be drunk before 2025." — Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, 90 Points

• Producer: Château de Ribebon (Aubert Family), Bordeaux, France
• Vintage: 2020
• Appellation: Bordeaux Supérieur AOC
• Varietal: Merlot-dominant blend
• Vine Age: 40 years
• Size: 750ml
• Accolades: Wine Enthusiast 90 (Roger Voss)
• Drink: Best from 2025; decant if opening now
• Tasting Notes: Blackcurrant, plum, spice, toast, earthy, structured tannins
• Best Paired With: Gourmet burgers, lamb chops with rosemary, duck confit, beef stew, mushroom risotto, aged Comté

A 90-point Bordeaux Supérieur from a former royal hunting lodge — Aubert family quality, 40-year-old vines, and one of Bordeaux's finest recent vintages at a Petit Château price.

Château Bel-Air Lussac Saint-Émilion 2020 — Bordeaux, France

Château Bel-Air is a benchmark estate in Lussac Saint-Émilion, the satellite appellation just north of Saint-Émilion proper, where clay-limestone soils and a cooler microclimate produce Merlot and Cabernet Franc of remarkable depth and elegance. The 2020 Cuvée Jean & Gabriel — equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, raised in one-third new French oak — is a standout achievement in an exceptional vintage. James Suckling awarded it 92 points; the Wine Advocate 91; Jeb Dunnuck 90 — calling it “well worth seeking out” with 8–10 years of prime drinking ahead.

The nose is complex and inviting: crushed raspberries and blackberries, kirsch, lavender, dark spices, and a whisper of wild mushroom and damp earth. On the palate it is medium- to full-bodied, with savory layers of red and black fruit, soft tannins, and a seamless, balanced finish of outstanding length.

James Suckling 92 • Wine Advocate 91 • Jeb Dunnuck 90 — “Seamless, balanced mouthfeel and outstanding length.”

• Producer: Château Bel-Air, Lussac Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France
• Vintage: 2020
• Appellation: Lussac Saint-Émilion AOC
• Blend: 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc
• Aging: One-third new French oak
• Format: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Blackberry, raspberry, kirsch, lavender, dark spice, earthy, seamless finish
• Cellar Potential: Drink now or cellar 8–10 years
• Best Paired With: Roast lamb, duck confit, beef bourguignon, aged Comté, mushroom risotto

A 92-point Right Bank Bordeaux at an honest price — Château Bel-Air is the benchmark for what Lussac Saint-Émilion can be.

Château La Plaige Bordeaux Supérieur — Bordeaux, France 2023

Perched on a hillside overlooking the river Dordogne on the eastern edge of Bordeaux, Château La Plaige is a family estate with five generations of roots and a clear sense of purpose. Since 2000, Frédéric Naud and his wife Lise have stewarded these vines with quiet dedication, carrying forward a winemaking tradition that the Naud family has maintained across more than a century. The combination of clay and limestone soils gives Frédéric the raw material to craft wines that are at once powerful and elegant — a balance that defines the estate’s character. The 2023 Bordeaux Supérieur is a meticulously crafted blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc: approachable now, yet built with the integrity to reward patience. At under $17, it is one of the most compelling values in classic Bordeaux.

The nose is fresh and inviting: forest fruits and crushed strawberry. On the palate, it is rich and silky, with dense, supple tannins and a long, elegant finish of real depth. A wine that bridges tradition and modernity — the kind of honest, food-friendly Bordeaux that belongs on every table.

• Producer: Château La Plaige (Naud family, 5 generations), Dordogne hillside, Bordeaux, France
• Vintage: 2023
• Appellation: Bordeaux Supérieur AOC
• Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
• Soils: Clay and limestone
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Forest fruits, crushed strawberry, rich, silky, supple tannins, long elegant finish
• Best Paired With: Roast lamb, duck confit, beef bourguignon, aged cheeses, charcuterie

A five-generation Bordeaux family estate at an honest price — Château La Plaige is the benchmark for what classic Bordeaux Supérieur can be.

Expert Reviews 

98 Points Vinous | The 2020 Pape Clément is outrageously beautiful. Dark, virile and imposing, the 2020 is a rare vintage of Pape Clément that is vertical and statuesque in feel. Dark fruit, chocolate, new leather, licorice and cloves infuse the palate with tremendous depth. In a word: magnificent. - Antonio Galloni

98 Points James Suckling | Lots of blackberry, iodine and crushed stone here. Some black pepper and graphite, too. Full body and medium, fine tannins that have a powdery texture and open in the mouth. So much going on. Iodine and iron undertones with some raw mushroom bring you back for more. Muscular. This is for the cellar. Drink after 2027.

97+ Points Jeb Dunnuck | I loved the 2020 Château Pape Clément, and this beauty is up there with the top wines in Pessac. Checking in as equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, aged 18 months in 90% barrels and 10% in foudre, it offers a deep purple hue to go with a powerful, concentrated profile displaying both red and black fruits, lots of spicy, chocolate, flowery incense nuances, full-bodied richness, and an almost salty, bloody character on the finish. This beauty shows the concentrated yet utterly classic, focused, elegant style of the vintage and has so much to love.

96 Points Wine Enthusiast | This ancient estate, an oasis in the suburbs of Bordeaux city, offers a wine that is packed with promising tannins. The important and rich black fruits reveal concentration, density and the potential of the development of a fine balance and structure as it matures.

95 Points Decanter | Tannic heft from the get-go, though this does have a lovely fresh, clean and precise core with a narrow, focused frame so the elements come across as quite tight and severe right now but well worked. It has class, no doubt, on the high-toned scale, potent and upfront but there's gorgeous detail and precision to the fruit, acidity and tannins. Slick and classy with lots of glamour that plays to the strengths of the vintage.

95 Points Wine Spectator | This is snazzed up with flashy toast, but there's ample mulberry, cassis and plum compote fruit to soak it up, while notes of licorice and sweet spice fill in the background. A late tug of warm earth keeps this grounded. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

94 Points Robert Parker | Aromas of rich cherries, cassis, burning embers, violets and dark chocolate introduce the 2020 Pape Clément, a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy wine that's ripe, layered and generously extracted but also a touch deeper and more reserved than the flashy 2019. While it would be an exaggeration to say that this estate's red wines are making much of a shift in the direction of restraint, the style is certainly less aspirational than it was a decade ago.

Expert Reviews

98 Points Wine Enthusiast | This firmly structured wine with its high percentage of Merlot is powerful and dense. The bold black fruits and perfumed density are impressive.

97+ Points Jeb Dunnuck | A clear step up over the 2019, the 2020 Château Troplong Mondot is mostly Merlot yet includes 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, all of which was raised in 65% new French oak, with the balance in once-used barrels. The level of purity and finesse here is remarkable, and it reveals a deep ruby/purple hue as well as incredible aromatics of cassis, ripe black cherries, graphite, gunpowder, and spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has building, perfectly ripe tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. Certainly light years away from the riper, more opulent style of the 2000's, the wines today under consultant Thomas Duclos are much more about finesse and elegance. While I certainly miss the sexy, riper style of the past, there is no denying the incredible quality from this château today. 

97 Points Robert Parker | The 2020 Troplong Mondot is composed of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 4th September and lasting for about three weeks. The pH is 3.53, the IPT (tannin index) is 75 and the alcohol is 14.5%. Opaque purple-black colored, it opens with a vivacious burst of black fruits—stewed plums, baked blackberries and boysenberries—giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of licorice, ground cloves, cinnamon stick and lilacs, with a touch of bouquet garni. The full-bodied palate is chock-full of plump, juicy black fruits and savory sparks, framed by fantastically ripe, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and opulent. 

97 Points James Suckling | A soft and round red with plum and milk chocolate. Hazelnuts. Full-bodied and layered. Juicy. Hints of sea salt. Power is there. Turns firm and vivid. So attractive now. Savory. Needs three to four years to open.

93 Points Decanter | This sets out its stall as a wine from a specific plot of pure limestone soils straight away, and this is a second wine to savour. As with last year, this is a masterclass in the impact of this particular soil type, with a bright violet colour, juicy blueberry fruits and touches of redcurrant. It has a tingling finish with a whoosh of salinity that gives tension and balance. 30% aged in barrels, the rest stays in stainless steel. 3.53pH. Still 100% Merlot as last year, but that will probably change in 2021 when some Cabernet Franc should be added. Not sold as an En Primeur, the 2018 has just been released onto the market. September 4 was the first day of picking.

Expert Reviews

Expert Reviews- Vintage 2020 

97 Points Wine Enthusiast | In this wine, the tannins are velvety, with black fruits that are immensely concentrated. The texture and powerful tannins provide superb foils for the fruit. Drink from 2027. Organic and biodynamic.

96 Points Vinous | The 2020 Durfort-Vivens is a dense, concentrated wine, just as it was en primeur. Blackberry jam, grilled herbs, lavender, menthol and chocolate are some of the many notes that build as the 2020 shows off its breadth and sheer power. Striking inner perfume and sweet aromatics lend an exotic flair that is so distinctive. Superb.

95 Points Wine Advocate | The 2020 Durfort Vivens has turned out beautifully, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark cherries and berries mingled with hints of licorice, baking chocolate and mint. Medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, it's layered and concentrated, with lively acids and broad structural shoulders, its generous endowment of powdery tannin asserting itself on the youthfully firm finish. More tightly wound than the extroverted, charming 2019, the 2020 will demand patience, but it's a very strong performance for this estate.