2020 Prieure Lichine

The first bottle of the 2020 Prieuré-Lichine was corked. The second takes time to unfurl with blackberry, gravel and crushed violet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, sapid black fruit, brine and sea salt. There's real salinity here, and it leaves you salivating for more on the finish. This is very promising. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Tasted on two separate occasions, the 2020 Château Prieuré-Lichine has a solid perfume of redcurrants, blueberries, smoky oak, and chocolate that shows more and more floral nuances with time in the glass. Nicely textured on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness, it has solid mid-palate depth, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It needs a solid 4-6 years of bottle age but is another impressive 2020 with real class.

The 2020 Prieuré-Lichine is elegant and nuanced, just as it was en primeur. Even so, I had hoped to see another step forward in this vintage, and it's just not there. For example, the aromatics aren't quite as focused as they could be. Prieuré-Lichine is still a very good wine, but it is not all it could be.