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Glenelly Lady May 2020

Tasting Notes

59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot

Lady May is Glenelly’s flagship estate wine. The 2020 Bordeaux blend pays tribute to the pedigree of its legendary owner. In honour of May de Lencquesaing’s 100th birthday, a special-edition label graces the Lady May 2020 vintage. A rare collector’s item for your cellar.

Crafted from the best Bordeaux components of 2020, it reveals rich dark berry aromas with hints of mocha and cedar on the nose. The palate offers sweet fruit flavours, smooth tannins, and a long, refined finish.

Winery: Glenelly
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
SKU: GLELAD2020 Categories: ,
Bottle Size: 750ml
Glenelly Lady May Cabernet Sauv 2020

$68.99

Awards/Reviews

5 Stars 2026 John Platter’s South African Wine Guide
The esteemed pinnacle, Cape Bordeaux with 59% cab & three others in 20 (96 pts), milestone bottling for dynamic owner’s 100th birthday. Exciting purple hue, perfectly pitched nose & palate – intense dark fruit, herbs, spice & cedar – the whole claret experience, so thrilling when done right. Pure, unfolding finish. 2 years 70% new barrique. Like 19 (93 pts) longevity part of the DNA.

96+ pts Greg Sherwood MW Sept 2025
A blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. From a relatively warm early vintage yielding ripe, accessible, forward wines that many winemakers feel has been forgotten as the covid year. An intricate wine that offers accessibility with structure, allowing the wine to age for many years. The aromatics are intense and fresh, loaded with creme de cassis, black cherry and blueberry hints, with dried mint leaves, baking herbs, and curry leaf spice complexity. The elegance is very clear and apparent, the silky finesse and accessibility complimented by effortless tannins. This should be good to drink on release but comfortably age worthy for 15-20+ years. (32,000 bottles produced.)

96 pts Tim Atkin MW 2024
The latest in a series of brilliant Lady Mays, the 2020 release is an assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Curated in 70% new wood, it’s a bold, structured wine that wouldn’t look out of place in Pauillac, with aromas of liquorice and five spice, remarkable density and palate weight, top notes of coffee bean and cedarwood and a core of inky black cherry, plum and cassis fruit. 2027-40

94 pts James Suckling Oct 2024
A full-bodied, creamy and polished red blend that exudes notes of chocolate, blackcurrants, mint, cedar and hints of graphite. Broad and textural with ripe and firm tannins. Excellent focus. A blend of 75% cabernet sauvignon, 10% cabernet franc, 10% merlot and 5% petit verdot. Drink after 2025.

93 pts Vinous Sept 2024

92 pts Wine Advocate Feb 2026
The Glenelly 2020 Stellenbosch Lady May, bottled in heavy glass, is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Cabernet-driven dark fruit and initial succulence lead the palate, though the mid-palate remains lean and somewhat restrained, giving a lighter impression. Fruit is sourced from estate vineyards farmed under a regenerative philosophy on cooler, southeast-facing granite slopes, where soil health and reduced vigor encourage fruit clarity. Production totals 30,856 bottles. 2026-2036

Winemaker Notes

In honour of May de Lencquesaing’s 100th birthday, a special label graces the Lady May 2020 vintage. With the words “Celebrating a
Century of Life” and a subtle ‘100’ woven behind the statue emblem, it pays quiet tribute to a remarkable legacy. A rare collector’s item for your cellar.

• The grapes were hand-picked and lightly crushed before being transferred into
stainless steel tanks.
• Fermentation occurred naturally, with extraction carefully managed by limiting pumpovers to a maximum of two per day.
• Following fermentation, the wine remained in contact with the skins for an additional 2-3 weeks.
• It was then matured for a total of 24 months in 300L French oak barrels.
• Initially, the wine spent 12 months aging as individual components in 30-40% first-fill barrels. Subsequently, after blending, it was returned to 75% first-fill barrels for an additional 12 months

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