Château Prieuré-Lichine (2020)

About this wine

Château Prieuré Lichine 2020 is a Margaux Fourth Growth from the 1855 classification. The blend for this vintage is centered on Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and a small portion of Petit Verdot, giving it a core of cassis and black cherry along with violet, tobacco and licorice tones. On the palate it is medium to full bodied, with rich, velvety tannins and a polished texture that stays more refined than heavy. It shows dark fruit, spice and a lightly savory, stony edge that adds lift through the finish. The wine is aged in French oak for about 16 months, with around 40 percent new barrels, which helps explain the cedar and sweet spice notes without overwhelming the fruit. Harvest for the vintage ran from mid September into early October, and the finished wine comes in at about 14 percent alcohol.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon was born in Bordeaux from a natural crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc that researchers later confirmed with DNA work at UC Davis, and at Château Prieuré Lichine it is favored on the estates well drained gravel mounds that help this late ripening grape reach full maturity. Merlot has long been part of Bordeaux, first recorded locally in the late 1700s, and the château keeps a large share of it because Merlot performs reliably on the properties lighter soils with more clay, bringing earlier ripening fruit into the blend. Petit Verdot is an old southwest France Bordeaux grape that ripens very late and is often used sparingly, and at Prieuré Lichine it is a small but regular component that is typically reserved for the warmest parcels where it can ripen. In the 2020 Grand Vin, these traditions show up in a classic Margaux blend of 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, and 5 percent Petit Verdot.

Quick facts

• ⛪ The estate began as the Priory of Cantenac, where monks tended vines, and the first recorded mention of the Prieuré growth dates to 1444.
• 🏅 Château Prieuré Lichine is a Margaux Quatrième Cru Classé, officially ranked as a Fourth Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification.
• 👑 Wine writer and merchant Alexis Lichine, nicknamed the “Pope of Wine,” bought the property in 1951 and renamed it Château Prieuré Lichine in 1953, launching a modern revival for the estate.
• 🤫 The château has a true “insider” bottling called Confidences de Prieuré Lichine, its Second Wine, made from younger vines but handled with the same house style and care.
• 🪵 In 2020, the Grand Vin was built around a classic Left Bank blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, then aged about 16 months with roughly 40% new French oak.

Palate profile

Producer

Château Prieuré Lichine began as a Benedictine priory whose monks cultivated vines in the Médoc, and the estate later evolved into a commercial wine property. It was ranked a Fourth Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification for Margaux. Wine writer and merchant Alexis Lichine bought the estate in 1951, then rebuilt and expanded it, and the property took his name in 1953. After Lichine’s death in 1989, the château later changed hands again and was acquired by the Ballande group in 1999, bringing a new phase of investment and modernization.