November Wines-Bordeaux tastings in London
There were three important Bordeaux tastings in London in October and November. The first two (Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés and Les Crus Bourgeois were reviews of the last vintages to be produced (the 2022s were still in cask) while the Union des Grands Crus tasting focused on 2021 alone.
King Charles III with entourage visiting the Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte en route to Merignac Airport,Bordeaux after officail visit to France
We all remember the second lockdown year and that accident-prone summer. In Britain the summer never really happened. The vintage sticks up like a sore thumb because the years either side were blisteringly hot. The 2021 vintage might appear the ugly duckling among a recent series of very fine vintages in Bordeaux, but it is by no means one to be written off. Bordeaux is a large and varied region and its better wines sell for high prices. Château-owners can afford to be rigorously selective and throw away bad grapes. Some have achieved amazing results; many wines. however, suffer from a lack of redeeming fruit: they are dull.
At the Grands Crus Classés tasting, Daniel Cathiard of November Wines-Bordeaux tastings in London was the first man I saw. He was still flushed with pride after receiving the King and Queen of Great Britain. It is undeniable, however, that Charles and Camilla had made a good choice of where to stop off on their way to the airport at Mérignac:Smith-Haut-Lafitte is on top form. The 2021 was sullen, but not without charm. The 2020 was the star: brimming with fruit, the 2019 may have already entered a quiet period but will be good too.When it comes to the 2021s, there were more than decent wines from several classed growth Pessac-Léognans: Châteaux Bouscaut
and Carbonnieux in particular.Besides Smith, the best I tasted was probably the Domaine de Chevalier.
The pattern of vintages was similar for Château Gazin in Pomerol: sullen 2021, excellent and complex 2020 fine 2019. There was a lovely ripe 2008 to drink with lunch.
The Neipperg estate is always something to look forward to and the Graf presided over a table of delights: Château d’Aiguilhe in Castillon had a promising 2022 and an excellent 2020; the Clos de l’Oratoire in St Emilion was much the same. With Canon la Gaffelière you become aware of how much 15% Cabernet Sauvignon can make a difference to predominantly Merlot wines. Again, the frontrunners were 2022 and 2020, but the 2021 was pretty good too. With La Mondotte I preferred the 2022 to the 2019. The 2020 was fabulous.
Château Canon was an estate that made a fine, structured 2021. The 2022 was more exciting, the 2020 closed, the 2019 approachable, if on the light side.
In general, St Emilion and Pomerol did better in 2021 than some parts of the Médoc. Clos Fourtet and Château Valandraud were excellent as was Château Clinet in Pomerol
Over to the Médoc: in Moulis, Château Maucaillou produced a very classical 2021. In the Haut-Médoc, Château Cantemerle made one of the best 2021s I have tasted, with lashings of fruit. Cantemerle is often surprisingly good.
In Margaux, Château Rauzan-Ségla also made a lovely 2021 which seemed more attractive than the 2020. The 2019 was also excellent.
Other top Margaux in 2021 were Brane-Cantenac, Desmirail, Giscours, Lascombes, du Tertre and Kirwan. The Marquis de
Terme was possibly the best Marquis de Terme I have ever had.Branaire-Ducru in St Julien was the opposite, with the 2020 clearly the greater wine of the four. Also in St Julien, Léoville-Poyferrémade a rather gamy 2021, with the 2020 more classically composed. Again the 2019 was not to be sneered at. Many top St Juliens were disappointing, but I liked both Langoa and Léoville-Barton. The latter was one of the best 2021s. Talbot was good too.
Chateaux Batailley wines in Pauillac with a good 2021 vintage
In Pauillac, Pontet-Canet made a really great 2020 and there was an exciting 2022. The 2021s were often good here: Batailley, Clerc Milon, Lynch Moussas and Duhart-Milon made very creditable wines.
The real fireworks came from St Estèphe. Tronquoy-Lalande was showing a magnificent 2018, but Montrose was possibly the best
estate in the tasting: and maybe the best 2021 I have tasted to date.There is a wonderful 2020 too, and a pretty good 2019. Among the crus bourgeois: there were nice 2019s from Châteaux La Cardonne. Fleur la Mothe, Beaumont, d’Arsac and Lilian Ladouys (the best); reasonable 2021s from Châteaux Dillon and Biston-Brillette; and a lovely 2020 from Château Paveil de Luze in Margaux.
