Bordeaux 2020: en primeur report Jane Anson’s verdict on the first taste of the new vintage: 102 selected wines, notes & scores. Timing was key, with dry, hot weather dictating outcomes
2020 wasn’t a straightforward vintage to sum up, but managing the dry weather conditions turned out to be crucial. Early-ripening conditions favoured the Merlots in general, and the bulk of the highestscorers are to be found on the Right Bank – but in all cases you’d be wise to take heed of expert guidance
For the second year running, the blocks to international travel reset en primeur, although châteaux were far more prepared this time around. Château Pichon Baron alone sent out about 800 samples in WIT ‘wine in tubes’, and the Union des Grands Crus held 330 tasting sessions in cities around the world.
However, the impact of Covid-19 has been present during the entire season for Bordeaux 2020. Delayed by a month to the end of April, it was closer to ‘normal’ than last year, though still a mix of tasting at home and visiting châteaux, all with social distancing in place. I tasted about 800 wines in all, giving roughly 10% a score of 95 points or more, including five at '98-100'pts.
The first nationwide French lockdown in 2020 began as buds were breaking, 17 March to 11 May. It was unclear whether there would be special dispensation for agricultural workers, and some estates kept teams at home until official word
came (about a week later). Others just kept going with workers out in the vines. ‘The growth cycle was early and abundant,’ says Véronique Sanders at Château Haut-Bailly. ‘If we hadn’t, a few weeks later it would have been too late to manage.’ The early part of the year is summed up by the hashtag #lavignenattendpas (‘vines don’t wait’).
Harvest presented similar challenges. Château Cantenac Brown director José Sanfins reported having two separate teams staying in two separate locations, and never crossing at any point. Others employed people simply to check harvesters were wearing their masks and disinfecting their hands.
As Eric Kohler at Château Lafite Rothschild said: ‘We had to manage the weather, but also our teams at every step of the way. It’s been tough all round.’
In total, Bordeaux produced 440 million litres of wine in 2020, the equivalent of 587 million bottles – a smaller number than average, but each one of them hard-earned.
2020: THE SEASON
As Baptiste Guinaudeau at Château Lafleur in Pomerol says: ‘2020 brought into focus many things that have been happening in Bordeaux over the past decade. The idea of what is a typical vintage has changed. Classically you would have some wet years, some dry years, some hot years and so on, but we now have to get used to having all of these things in a single vintage – so going from a warm winter to a wet cold spring to a hot dry summer.
‘We are more ready for it now, but it means terroir and attention in the vineyard is critical. And it is more difficult to judge the wines en primeur, because we are less sure how they will progress over ageing and in bottle. We are all adapting to the new normal’.
It’s always useful to look at the ISVV Bordeaux Institute’s assessment to see what this means in detail. Abundant and even flowering fulfilled the first ISVV condition for a successful vintage.
Fruit set in June was more difficult due to rains and cool temperatures, particularly for Cabernets, so the second condition was only partly fulfilled. Mildew also became as strong a threat as in 2018, but with less overall damage done.
The third condition for a successful vintage was largely fulfilled: a dry July and August meant water stress helped the vines to stop growing before veraison (colour change of the grapes), although a little late in some cases – particularly as this was such an early season, about three weeks in advance of average. Rains in August varied according to location, from about 20mm in parts of Pomerol up to 120mm in Pauillac.
Good weather continued into September: the first two weeks of the month saw zero rain at Mérignac weather station, the first time that has been true since 1958. This meant almost all varieties saw good weather for their final stretch of ripening, fulfilling the fourth ISVV condition.
Harvest took place largely under dry conditions, although mid-September saw a heatwave that meant grapes shrank in size (and therefore lost ▶
‘2020 brought into focus many things that have been happening over the past decade – the idea of what is a typical vintage has changed’ --------------------------- Baptiste Guinaudeau, Château Lafleur
potential yield while concentrating flavours). Rains fell particularly at the end of the month, and the arrival of storm Alex in early October further complicated things. So the final condition of good weather during harvest was fulfilled for Merlot and the earliest ripening Cabernets, but only partly fulfilled for later-ripening areas.
2020: KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Low yields, about 25% lower than 2019 for many of the top Left Bank reds. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both affected, right from the start of the season.
• Warming-related death knells for Merlot were made to look premature, as this was a great year for Merlot. Clay-limestone soils did brilliantly – look for value in Castillon, Francs and Fronsac.
• Lower alcohols almost invariably, compared to both 2018 and 2019. Partly because August was dry but not unusually hot, and partly because the drought meant slow ripening, the vines slowing down and so not building up huge sugar levels. You’ll find this true across both banks, but especially so in the Médoc.
• Often you see more of the personality of a vintage in the second wine and that is true in 2020; certainly as far as tannins are concerned, which can be overpowering at times.
2020: WINE STYLES
With some of Bordeaux’s lowest yields of recent years, the resulting concentration meant there was a line that needed careful treading in order to preserve fruit and freshness. You’ll find plenty of racy, supple tannins that power forward and have a sense of energy, but also tannins that are a little dry and sometimes underripe if the drought led to blockages, though the best perform a sleight of hand that goes beyond what the on-paper vintage conditions might lead you to expect.
Style-wise, you’ll hear lots of comparisons to 2016 and 2010, because of the quantity of tannins, but I haven’t found the wines to be as consistent as in those two vintages. In most cases (certainly on the Left Bank) 1996, 2000 and 2006 are better comparisons – big tannins, a little unwieldy at times, not generous but with potential. The Right Bank has had an easier time of it in many ways – less rain in August, with clay-limestone soils that kept freshness – and here a comparison to 1989 seems reasonable, and more in common with 2018 than on the Left Bank.