Blason D'Issan - Margaux 2020

Château d’Issan is in the middle of the Margaux appellation, a truly privileged location, which explains the outstanding quality of its wines. The mild weather, regulated by being close to the sea and the Gironde Estuary, provides ideal conditions for vine growth.

The soil is made up of mounds of gravel and 15-metre (50-foot) high alluvial hills, rounded by erosion. This ground drains well, forcing the vines to develop deep root systems in search of the special ingredients that make Château d’Issan wines so distinctive.

Blason d’Issan, the second wine, was introduced from 1995 onwards to enable selection amongst the vines growing in the Margaux appellation area. Fruit from the youngest vines is used to produce this wine, which respects the identity of its terroir, while offering a tasty round fruitiness, which can be enjoyed earlier. Blason d’Issan is also aged in barrels for 14 to 16 months, one third of which are new. Annual production is around 120,000 bottles.

Blending Cabernet Sauvignon (52%) and Merlot (48%), the Blason d’Issan 2018 offers radiant and intense fruit aromas on the nose, while the palate reveals a beautifully precise and refined texture. A great vintage of Blason d’Issan.

“Dried oranges and plums with bark, mushroom and forest floor aromas that follow through to medium to full body with a dense finish and excellent energy. Spices such as nutmeg and sandalwood. Some chocolate, too. 57% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 3% petit verdot.” - 94 Points, James Suckling

“Seductive aromatics, good balance running through the palate, this is enjoyable. Petit Verdot for the first time in the blend, from the Pontac-Lynch vines. This has some lovely depth and width through the palate, one of the better second wines. With the addition of new plots and new grapes, they did many more blending sessions than usual, to be sure especially, whether to add the 1% Malbec to the first wine (most of this info needs to be switched into the Issan entry). Young vines mainly in this wine, Merlot oriented. This year they added 7ha of vines (as of March, from Pontac Lynch, including a 1948 plot of Petit Verdot and a 1958 Cabernet Franc, plus 1% of Malbec that has gone into the blend of the 1st wine).” - 92 Points, Decanter

Producer: Blason D'Issan

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Varietal: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Margaux

Vintage: 2020

Size: 750ml