| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This 55 hectare Margaux property is planted a majority Cabernet Sauvignon, with a good proportion of Merlot. Newly purchased plots containing old vines of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot have been added to the blend from 2020. The Cruse family brought in new investment in 2013 from M Lorenzetti who has also purchased Pedesclaux in Pauillac. Recent vintages have performed very well in blind tastings at Southwold.
A very strong effort for this estate, the 2020 D'Issan wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with notions of violets and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vibrant, with good depth at the core, refined tannins and a penetrating finish, it's an elegant, perfumed Margaux that's built to age with grace. 2025 - 2050
The 2020 Château d'Issan has a gorgeous, perfumed, floral bouquet with mainly red berry fruit, rose petal and hints of violet. The palate is medium-bodied, very focused and linear, with fine tannins. It perhaps needs a little more density toward the finish. There is a little bitterness on the aftertaste, yet that just lends tension and nerve. Lovely. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2028 - 2055
Gorgeous aromas of dried flowers, currants, bark, and forest floor. Lead pencil, too. Tobacco. Full-bodied yet racy and polished with fine and silky tannins that run the length of the wine. Crunchy and fresh at the end. Give this five or six years to come together. Supple yet structured. It builds at the finish. Try after 2028.
The 2020 d’Issan is deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly unfurls to offer notes of cedar and cassis, followed by wafts of potpourri, crushed rocks, truffles, and unsmoked cigars. The light to medium-bodied palate is tightly knit, elegant, and refreshing, with loads of mineral sparks on the long finish.
A successful wine that has lived up to En Primeur promise. The emphasis remains on texture and depth, velvety tannins, perfumed violets, rose and raspberry leaf aromatics, slate, crushed rocks, serious at first then softening to show raspberry puree and smoked blackcurrant fruits. Cocoa dusting on the finish and clear spice, a little austere right now. The terroirs of the newly-purchased Château Pontac Lynch are in this Issan vintage, meaning the blend uses five grape varieties for first time. Not easy to add these distinctive varieties while maintaining the elegant, finessed style of this estate, but it works. 50% new oak, 38hl/h yield.
Deep ruby in colour. Intense aromatics of violets, red cherries and exotic spices. The palate is glossy and exotic, full of cassis fruit, nutmeg and liquorice. This plump, generous and seductive style is silky smooth. Long on the finish with baked vanilla and roasted brambly fruit.
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec (the latter three from parcels of Pontac-Lynch acquired in March 2020 – the Petit Verdot planted in 1948). 45% of the production. Cask sample.
Classic Issan but with more aromatic complexity and a tad more length. Intense, floral with smooth, elegant tannins and balancing freshness. Persistent finish. (JL) 13.3%
Drink 2028 – 2045
(55% CS, 39% M, 3% CF, 2% PV, 1% MAL; 13.3% ABV; 50% new)
A most seductive nose promised here, finely gravelly, gentle in blackcurrant fruit; rich, dense, fresh, particularly fine in tannin; freshly sweet, long, subtle, complex, a gravel-infused gentle blackberry succulence to taste, within a very beautiful tannin texture, and superb length to finish. Very Margaux-discreet, a most complete and beautiful Issan. The proportion of exceptional-quality Merlot is clearly important here, and the newly acquired neighboring plot of old vines, a little Malbec included, has certainly offered an extra depth and complexity. Wonderful wine. 2030–55+.
The 2020 d'Issan is the first vintage with the parcels acquired from Pontac-Lynch, located just outside the Clos d'Issan. It contains a few rows of Malbec whose quality surprised Emmanuel Cruse, hence 1% in the Grand Vin. It also includes Petit Verdot planted in 1948. It is quintessentially Margaux on the nose with pressed violet and incense infusing the black fruit, beautifully defined with just some new oak to be assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, perfectly-judged acidity, harmonious and wonderfully focused on the peacock's tail of a finish. This is one of the finest d'Issans of the modern era.
The 2020 Château d’Issan, picked from September 17 to October 2 and blended in early January, then matured in 50% new oak, has a beautiful and very pure bouquet of blackberry, blueberry and light cranberry notes intertwined with crushed stone and subtle potpourri and violet scents, all wonderfully focused and exquisitely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle but insistent grip on the entry. The tannins are very chiseled and the acidity lends plenty of tension that is palpable from start to finish. This is a sophisticated Margaux in the making, full of breeding and class. Drink 2026-2055.
Extremely floral and fruity with currants and blackberries. It’s full-bodied and very layered with delicious, dense character. Full-bodied with dusty, layered tannins. Rich, but not heavy. Long and chewy on the finish. 55% cabernet sauvignon, 39% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot and 1% malbec.
The 2020 D'Issan is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, aging in French oak barriques, 50% new. It has an alcohol of 13.29%, a pH of 3.71 and an IPT (tannin index) of 73. Displaying an opaque purple-black color, it has vibrant notes of Bing cherries, boysenberries, ripe redcurrants and juicy black plums, plus hints of pencil shavings, wild thyme, lavender and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate has impressive energy with crunchy red and black fruits and compelling tension, framed by fine-grained tannins, finishing long and mineral laced. Drink 2025-2045.
This is a sinewy, powerful and forward-moving wine with a sense of momentum. Moreish, with the elegance and plump damson fruits that Issan delivers so well, but more muscular than some years with the impact of both Petit Verdot and Malbec that are in the blend for the first time in this vintage. These add layers of spice and the overall architecture is clear. Peony and violet notes add a kick upwards on the finish, this has a delicacy even though it is intense. Less Cabernet in the blend in 2020 than in 2019, as is often the case in the Médoc due to low yields. This new blend in Issan will be seen going forward after the addition of plots from the purchase of Château Pontac-Lynch.
Drinking Window 2028 - 2045
