2021 Bordeaux: Defying the Narrative
Sunset at Cheval Blanc.
I’ll cut straight to the chase. The 2021 Bordeaux vintage is exponentially superior to what the narrative implied in the weeks and months leading up to En Primeur week. Frost. Mildew. Rain. Depressed yields. That was it. Admittedly, I had all but declared 2021 the second coming of 2011 before we touched down in Paris, and in hindsight there are some parallels that can be drawn. The world today, like it was in 2011, is marred with a myriad of economic pressures, and prices could potentially be out of line for a vintage that will qualitatively check-in behind the previous three (or two in the case of 2011). Yet, as of today, there’s still hope that first-tranche pricing will be grounded and we’ll have a meaningful futures campaign on our hands.
As to the wines specifically, the recurring adjectives used by most every proprietor or technical director to describe the vintage were “fresh” and “classic.” While freshness is a necessary component to any good-to-great bottle, when the word “classic” is used to describe a contemporary wine, it always feels like a sugarcoated admission that the vintage got the best of the vineyard manager or winemaker. The most successful expressions in 2021 are aromatically lifted and distinctly fresh, while those that missed the mark were muted and perceptively hollow… or classic, by my definition. There were highs and lows just about everywhere, making the vintage impossible to summarize in any concise manner, but in my eyes “fresh” and “classic” are mutually exclusive and 2021 owns a bit of both. Semantics aside, in the coming months there will be a raft of utterly compelling wines hitting the market, and with some selectivity, consumers will find that the vintage has plenty to offer.
View from Château Canon in the mist.
Quality on the Right Bank was highly variable. Canon produced a lovely red that’s marked by its supple entry, flavors of black and red fruits, and a mid-palate richness that we seldom found in ’21. The Ausone-adjacent La Gaffelière extended its hot streak and crafted a wine that will compete with the top St-Émilions at a comparative bargain. Troplong-Mondot enjoyed a full crop, optimal ripeness and their Merlot-dominated Grand Vin was riveting. The top wines east of the Gironde, however, were La Conseillante, Figeac and Cheval Blanc. Each crafted brilliant wines that are true to their respective styles and will make welcome additions to any collection.
Within the Left Bank, Margaux certainly excelled from a 30,000 foot perspective. Labégorce, d’Issan, and Rauzan-Ségla stood out for their depth and refined textures. Labégorce, in particular, was beautifully red-fruited with floral-inflected aromatics. It is a wine that will assuredly be adored by afficionados at large. True to style, Palmer made an unctuous, full-bodied and black-fruited gem that was a joy to taste, along with an Alter Ego that was similarly magical. The unquestionable wine of the vintage was Château Margaux, although there will be precious little to go around. It, along with Pavillon and Pavillon Blanc, were among the greatest successes in 2021.
Cooperage at Margaux.
St-Estèphe was a mixed bag, with one major property leaving our entire team questioning whether our sample was off or if ’21 was a just distinctly classic vintage for the fan-favorite estate. Calon Ségur followed up its spectacular 2020 with elegance in spades. The wine was perfectly ripe with dark-floral undertones, a hint of sage leaf and graphite. Clocking in at a natural 12.9% alcohol, it’s a refined and seamless claret that will thrill for many years to come. On the value-driven side of St-Estèphe, Tronquoy-Lalande is gorgeous in ’21 and held its own in a tasting alongside Montrose. Moving into Pauillac, Lynch-Bages is home to one of the wines of the vintage while Pichon-Baron and Duhart-Milon crafted notable efforts.
Lunch at Labégorce.
There was much to enjoy in St-Julien, with Ducru-Beaucaillou topping out on my scale. Palate-staining purple in color, it’s loaded with liquid violets, white pepper, dark berries, and boasts a divinely rich yet simultaneously sophisticated texture. While yields were cut in half, what made it into barrel is easily among the wines of the vintage. Léoville-Poyferré continues its impressive run and return to refinement, Las-Cases was stellar, and Brainare-Ducru should be on anyone’s buysheet in ‘21.
Pessac-Léognan fared quite well across-the-board. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Haut-Brion and La Mission were spectacular. It was a joy to taste at Domaine de Chevalier with the supremely passionate Rémi Edange. His unending energy and holistic approach to vineyard management shines beautifully in both of their Grand Vins along with the value-driven Clos des Lunes Blanc that is built on vibrance and vigor. Haut-Bailly was deeply enjoyable, offering notes of dark chocolate intermixed with rosehips, blackberries, and perfectly ripe tannins. Malartic-Lagravière conjured a wine flush with Bing cherries, blueberries, and a whiff of espresso on a long finale. The appellation was also home to several very high-quality whites. Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was remarkably fresh and zesty while Smith Haut-Lafitte Blanc is a masterclass in decadence.
Haut-Bailly
Two-thousand-twenty-one is a vintage that challenged vintners on multiple levels and the successes are testaments to an adaptive and highly proficient set of professionals. However, if 2021 came at a time prior to the invention of the optical sorter, we’d likely be having a markedly different conversation. Although 2021 is impossible to encapsulate without an exception or two, what’s undeniable is that there was no shortage of beautifully complete wines produced in this narrative-defying Bordeaux vintage. Now all we need is pricing that’s commensurate with the realities of the present.