Chateau Hosanna 2020

JAMES SUCKLING: "So aromatic and fresh with black olives, black truffles, gravel and dried flowers. Milk chocolate. Ovaltine. Full-bodied with fantastic old-vine tannins. Layered and very structured. Goes deep and down. One for the cellar. Superb. Maybe the best ever. 80% merlot and the rest cabernet franc. Needs ten years here."

WEINWISSER: "Betörendes Parfüm, frische schwarze Johannisbeere, getrockneter Rosmarin und Schokopastillen. Im zweiten Ansatz zarte Veilchennote und heller Tabak. Am sublimen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, berauschender Extraktfülle, tänzerischer Rasse und purer Eleganz, dabei ungeheuer tiefgründig. Im konzentrierten langanhaltenden Finale Wildkirsche, edle Arabica-Note und royale Adstringenz. Ganz nah an der Perfektion, erinnert mich an den legendären 2009er! Das ist schon outstanding!"

JEB DUNNUCK: "A big, explosive beast of a wine, the 2020 Château Hosanna comes from a small 11-acre vineyard of gravelly, clay soils and it's 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Decadent red and black fruits, smoked tobacco, loamy earth, chocolate, and some meaty, iron-like nuances all emerge on the nose, and this round, full-bodied, expansive Pomerol has a great mid-palate, ripe tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. It's one of the more opulent, overtly sexy wines of the vintage, and this beauty is going to offer incredible pleasure over the coming 25-30 years."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Rich, earthy, and incredibly floral, you also find nuances of black, and blue fruits, plums, truffle, and cocoa on the nose The wine is full-bodied, supple, and rich with multiple layers of ripe, opulent, sweet, plums, cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and dark chocolate, all backed up by ripe, tannins, and freshness on the palate. Built to age, and evolve, this is in contention for one of the top vintages of Hosanna ever produced. Drink from 2027-2055."

DECANTER: "Lively on the nose, so expressive but in a lifted bright and lively way, not so dark and brooding more 'look how pretty I am right now'. Floral and dark fruit - blackcurrant, plum, red cherry, powerful but poised too, this has elegance and charisma form the start, bright acidity gives a slightly strict frame but the fruit, tannis, acidity, oak handling are supremely good. Feels so beautiful, a touch shy, with liquorice edges and some dark chocolate elements. Supremely easy to like and see the star quality here. It’s intense and concentrated but shimmers and shines in the glass. The purity is exceptional and I love the balance and length. Detailed and well designed - what a wine!"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Ockerrandaufhellung. Feine dunkle Waldbeermischung, ein Hauch von reifen schwarzen Kirschen, ein Hauch von Zedernholz, frische Orangenzesten sind unterlegt, attraktives Bukett. Saftig, elegant, ausgewogen, Brombeeren, feine Tannine, mineralisch und lange anhaftend, ein finessenreicher Stil, angenehme Würze im Abgang, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Well-formed, with a solid core of cassis, plum reduction and blackberry compote notes that stretch out slowly, supported by wood spice, dried anise and apple wood accents along the way. A late tug of warm earth and sweet tobacco adds depth and length. Captures the exotic edge of the vintage without losing focus -- no easy feat. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2038. 1,200 cases made, 85 cases imported."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2020 Hosanna is rich and sun-kissed in style, offering up aromas of berry liqueur, figs, licorice, aniseed and vine smoke, followed by a full-bodied, ripe and gourmand palate with a generous core of confit fruit, polished tannins and a suave, enveloping profile. This ripe, unctuous red wouldn't be out of place in a tasting of contemporary Napa Valley Cabernets."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Purity and precision on the nose, the emphasis on the fruit. Blueberry, blackcurrant nuance. Tannins and texture velvety smooth. Freshness in the tannins provides balance but perhaps less lift than 2019. Compact. Clean finish."