En Primeurs
2021, the miraculous year, the vintage that revives the classicism that has made the reputation of Bordeaux’s equilibrium.
back to a more classic and usual pattern. The flowering started between the last week of May and the first week of June, thanks to relatively mild temperatures. Unfortunately, the period remained rainy, which had a strong impact on the health of the vines (fungal disease pressure). In some parts of the Right bank, up to 270 millimetres of rain fell between May and June. From then on, despite the humidity was still there, the mild temperatures benefited fruit setting. Warm temperatures and humidity also favoured a very important vegetative growth.
The véraison started between the 15th and 20th of July, which confirms the fact that this vintage might be considered as slightly late. The vintage remained rainy until then which obliged the winegrowers to carry out a lot of leaf removal work to let the air dry the bunches to keep the grapes healthy. Great vigilance in the vineyard was required throughout the season.
In August the sun returns but the cool temperatures slow down the ripening and conversion of the acids and the accumulation of sugar. This will continue until September. In mid-september, the weather forecast announced heavy rains, which made some people start the harvest even if the maturity was not optimal, in a fear of a sanitary disaster in the vineyard. Others took the courage to wait and ultimately won the game... As has often been the case over the last two years, the forecast was wrong. The weather conditions improved and allowed the grapes to reach good maturity. These precious weeks saved the vintage!
Bordeaux 2021 vintage
The 2021 vintage is, in general, a good vintage, but a radically different one from what we have known recently...
And it is heterogeneous both in terms of quality and quantity. Indeed, some producers were affected either by mildew or by climatic hazards more heavily than the others, making between 7 and 20 hectolitres/hectare. Others were luckier and managed to produce a good crop (around 40 hectolitres/hectare). A great deal of sorting at harvest time was essential.
In terms of quality, there was also a lot of heterogeneity. It is indeed a vintage that was very difficult from a viticultural point of view and on the contrary much simpler to manage in the cellar. 2021 is the year when the terroir makes a huge impact on the wines. You will say ”yes, like every year”. Yes and no, in the sense that terroir is indeed an extremely important notion every year, but tends to be more easily ”erased or masked” in sunny vitnages... Ripeness and volume tend to homogenise everything. The knowledge of the winegrower, his know-how, the anticipation of the rains as well as the choices that were made on the dates of the harvest (do we let the showers pass or not?) were determining factors. Generally speaking, with a few exceptions, we find blends that are different from the last few years, which give the priority to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The quality of the latter was decisive for many of the great wines of the Right Bank. For example, this year Château Angélus has 60% Cabernet Franc. 2021 offers red wines that are, in my opinion, very much in the classic Bordeaux style (in the elegant and non-pejorative sense of the term), very much in the style of the 1990s (I’ve been saying this since the beginning of April...). That is to say that this year the wines that have been released are more refined, fresh, elegant, and aromatic, with lower alcohol levels. It should be noted that some producers had to chaptalise a little (that’s not an obscene word!).
These are wines that are more balanced than powerful or structured. The wines are sapid, even saline (especially on limestone), ”crushable”, nicely acidic, and reveal a lot of freshness, and energy as well as a nice bright fruit marked by the purity of its definition. Beautiful varietal notes (varietal = quality, vegetal = defect) add to the sensation of freshness and help the complexity of the whole. An airy character is also quite common. The tannins are normally not massive, not pronounced, but supple, fine, and sapid.
The whites are generally very successful. They are fresh, sapid, not over-ripe, nicely balanced, gourmet, and often floral. The over-ripe aromatic profile is relatively rare.
As for the sweet wines, they are even rarer than usual... Some Sauternes properties have made less than one hectolitre/hectare and others have simply chosen not to produce sweet wines or make second wines only. However, the quality produced, for those who have been able to make a bit of great wine, is extraordinary, with beautiful freshness/acidity, without any heaviness, nicely complex and balanced.
forecasted in September. Some of them also show fine ”mildew” notes.
All this explains why out of the 1173 wines tasted (what a marathon!) I will only present the notes of a little over 850 wines. I prefer, and I fully support my position, not to speak about a wine that is not good, rather than to describe it badly, to present it badly, to speak about it badly. Once again, it is important to remember that the winegrowers are TOTALLY dependent on climatic hazards and that they inevitably cannot control them. I, therefore, prefer, after tasting, to contact the winemaker and explain to him why I would not write about his wine, and to discuss with him to understand the result rather than uselessly criticise him. It is always important, in my opinion, to keep a human side in this profession, a constructive side and not to try to make a ”buzz” or to make a reputation by negative criticism rather than by constructive criticism... One very rarely grows out of this kind of technique! One must make a place for oneself by the quality of one’s work and by one’s seriousness. The winemaker-journalist relationship must be built on respect, honesty, sincerity, and a constructive spirit. So I would kindly ask you to consider my report of +850 wines more as a selection.
Enjoy the reading!
Pessac-léognan
Score : 14.75/20 (88-89/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 16/20 (92/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 16.75/20 (93-94/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 17.5+/20 (95-96/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 15.5/20 (90-91/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 15.5/20 (90/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 15.75/20 (91-92/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 16.5/20 (93/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 16.25+/20 (93/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 15.5/20 (90/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 15.5+/20 (91/100)
Pessac-léognan
Grand Cru Classé
Score : 17.25+/20 (94-95/100)
Pessac-léognan
Grand Cru Classé de Graves Score : 17.75/20 (95-96/100)
Pessac-léognan Grand Cru Classé de Graves Score : 16.5/20 (93/100)
Pessac-léognan
Grand Cru Classé de Graves Score : 16.75/20 (93-94/100)
Pessac-léognan
Grand Cru Classé de Graves Score : 17.5+/20 (95-96/100)
Pessac-léognan Premier Grand Cru Classé Score : 18.75/20 (97-98/100)
Pessac-léognan Grand Cru Classé Score : 16.5/20 (93/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 15.5+/20 (90-91/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 16.5/20 (93/100)
Score : 15.5+/20 (91/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 16.25+/20 (93/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 17.5+/20 (95-96/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 15.5/20 (90/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 15.5+/20 (90-91/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 15.75/20 (91-92/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 16/20 (92/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 15/20 (89-90/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 16.5+/20 (93-94/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 17.75/20 (95-96/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 18.5+/20 (97-98/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 16/20 (92/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 15.75/20 (91-92/100)
Pessac-léognan Score : 17/20 (94/100)
Pessac-léognan
Score : 17.25+/20 (95/100)
Pessac-léognan Grand Cru Classé Score : 19/20 (98/100)
Pessac-léognan Grand Cru Classé de Graves Score : 17/20 (94/100)
Pessac-léognan Grand Cru Classé de Graves Score : 16.25+/20 (93/100)