Has St-Emilion hit the alcohol too hard?

I went straight to James Lawther’s article about St-Emilion in the June 2021 issue, my eagerness growing as I read ‘fruit, freshness and drinkability is the new mantra’ and ‘radical and wholesale change’. At last, I thought, St-Emilion has really moved with the times, producing a fresh, elegant vintage in 2018 in spite of the growing conditions. Too impatient to read the rest of the article, I skipped to the descriptions of the 10 wines. Then my heart sank as I noticed the notes and alcohol levels: Château Troplong Mondot, one of the supposed ‘radicals’, is ‘dense and profound’ with 15% alcohol; six other wines contain 14.5%. In fact, only one out of the 10 manages 13.5%, and it’s the lowest rated. How can a 14.5% – or worse, 15% – wine be described as ‘fresh’? How do any of these wines represent ‘wholesale change’? What the St-Emilion châteaux owners profess to be doing and what they actually do seems to be rather different.

Julian Marshall, Butry sur Oise, France

James Lawther MW replies: Let me assure you, and readers, that even though the alcohol levels may make you wince, there is a genuine move in St-Emilion (and Bordeaux in general) to bring more fruit, balance and authenticity to the wines. Global warming is a major concern and the excesses of the past (oak, overripeness) are being pushed aside. But finding the right balance of fruit, freshness and phenolic maturity, especially in a Merlot-weighted wine and in a ‘solar’ vintage, does mean that alcohols can be higher than desired. The main thing is that the wines are balanced, and the examples I gave are just that. Even the wonderful Ausone and Figeac, with lots of Cabernet in the blend, come in at 14% and they could not be accused of a lack of freshness and balance. Alcohol levels are unlikely to return to the level of bygone years, and I agree they need to come down if possible, but this is not Bordeaux’s problem alone.