VINTAGE REPORT: BORDEAUX 2024

As one chateau owner told us, making good wine in 2024 was a rich man's game. That a handful of elite chateaux managed to make very good and, in some cases, excellent wine in such adverse conditions is a triumph of ingenuity and perseverance. Life isn't fair as a vigneron. It's clear that those with the deepest pockets and best terroirs had a huge advantage, but that alone was not a panacea; foresight, savoir-faire, bold decision making, good fortune and a lot of hard graft were all vital. 

The oversimplified narrative will be that it rained… a lot. Winter was wet and mild... so was spring, which presented significant early mildew pressure. But this is not something new to Bordeaux. Indeed, modern vignerons have become adept at dealing with this scourge; most coped admirably during the incessant spring rains. Some organic chateaux like Calon Segur and Domaine de Chevalier returned to “traditional farming” practices to deal with the threat more effectively. If one digs a little deeper into the story of 2024, there were a couple of key windows when the rain relented; at the end of May, enabling good flowering for the best prepared chateaux; and then a period of drought from mid-July to the end of August, which even provided some crucial hydric stress in fast draining soils.

A wet and mild winter and spring meant the vines’ cycle was precocious. Starting early, as Aurélien Valance at Chateau Margaux explained, was critical. “We started pruning as early as possible, to have bud break as early as possible, so we have the flowering as early as possible, so we can achieve ripeness as early as possible”. This forward planning doesn’t work for everyone, especially if your terroir is affected by spring frosts (not a threat in 2024). Great terroirs like Lafleur and Margaux adopted this approach and benefitted from the best window of opportunity for flowering. This meant that the set was more uniform and required far less selection at harvest. As a result, both Margaux and Lafleur achieved near normal yields. Most were less fortunate, and where flowing occurred later, the set was affected by both coulure and millerandage, dramatically reducing the yield and requiring a huge amount of sorting come harvest.

Those who started early also benefited from longer hang time. There wasn’t an abundance of sunshine in 2024, so one way to compensate and achieve maturity was to prolong the ripening time on the vine. Aurélien explained that their Cabernets were harvested 125 days after flowering, 25% longer than a conventional year.

In the post Parker world, and with the proliferation of solaire vintages, consultants like Thomas Duclos have championed earlier harvesting. This was not the answer in 2024. Despite the risk of botrytis, most vignerons decided to sacrifice some yield for extra maturity – a tough compromise to stomach, but one that made all the difference. Generally, the later harvested wines benefit from more concentration and mid-palate density. Those who didn’t wait for maturity ended up with thin, underripe and acidic wines.

To sort or not to sort… was not really a question in 2024. Just about everyone deployed some sort of new-fangled toy to help them select only the finest grapes for their vats. Densimetric sorting was a particular favourite. For those who haven’t heard of this technique, berries are submerged in a sugar solution in water, to separate grapes based on their density. Ripe, denser grapes will sink, while unripe or undesirable material will float. This allows winemakers to eliminate everything that hasn’t reached the desired maturity and gives them a more homogenous crop to vinify. Optical sorting tables were another popular solution as well as good old fashioned hand sorting in both the vineyard and the cellar. For quality focussed chateaux, declassification was draconian. Cheval Blanc sold 34% of their crop for bulk!

Normally the “c” word is unmentionable in Bordeaux. We found several wine-makers who cut straight to the chase. “Yes, we chaptalised.” There was no secret about it – most wines needed a helping hand. Even with chaptalisation – and for most it was no more than half a degree, on a minority of their vats – the majority of wines are just a smidge above or below 13% alcohol. While less common in recent years, this practice is nothing new; many of the most enjoyable mature wines we enjoy today will have benefited from some chaptalisation.

With the proliferation of hot sunny vintages in recent years, vintages like 2021 and 2024 become all the more interesting. Their reserve and moderation hark back to the classical vintages of `85, `88, `96, and `04, offering modest alcohol levels and a sense of restraint. It’s often these vintages that surprise us the most. This is not to say you should buy everything. There are many failures. For the reasons we’ve stated above, there are some that lack a mid-palate and are dominated by tartaric acid. Barring some kind of miracle during élevage, we don’t see much future for these wines – and as a result, will not be offering them. At its best, 2024 is utterly charming. Wines like Margaux, Lafleur, Cheval Blanc, Petrus, Ausone, Eglise Clinet, Conseillante, Mouton, Montrose, both Pichons, Haut Brion, Les Carmes Haut Brion, Vieux Chateau Certan, Evangile, Figeac, Calon Segur, Cos d’Estournel, Brane Cantenac, Rauzan Segla, Beausejour, Tertre Roteboeuf, Canon, Grand Puy Lacoste, Ducru Beaucaillou, Leoville Barton, Poyferre and Las Cases have all triumphed. They are at least as good as their 2021 counterparts and in some cases clearly superior.

In general, this is not a vintage for second wines and petit chateaux, although there are some notable exceptions. The Durantou range is as good as ever (Chenade, Cruzelles, Montlandrie and Petite Eglise), and there are good efforts from: Lacoste Borie, Pichon Comtesse Reserve, Les Tourelles de Pichon Baron, Capbern, Les Perrieres, Pavillon Rouge and Chapelle de Mission.

We do tend to focus a lot on the reds. 2024 was a very successful year for dry whites and Sauternes. There was clearly plenty of good botrytis, which has produced some rich, unctuous wines full complex, aromatic fruit. Our favourites included: Doisy Daene, Doisy Vedrines, Suduiraut, Coutet and Climens. The dry whites are also aromatic, expressive and bursting with nervy tension. Les Champs Libres, Grand Village Blanc, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafitte and the Clarence Dillon range were all wonderful.

Some people may question why we send twelve people to Bordeaux for four days in what will be perceived to be a less than glamorous vintage. The truth is, this is when you need a large and experienced team the most. 2024 is less consistent than 2021; the peaks are certainly higher, however, there are many troughs… Our team is here to offer advice on what to buy and what to avoid. If you need guidance, please speak to one of our account managers.

We can’t really complete this vintage report without mentioning the market. It’s no secret prices have dropped over the last couple of years. The world has changed. No more cheap money, cost of living crisis, China in slowdown and the spectre of tariffs all make for lots of uncertainty. Some may say, “who needs another en primeur campaign?” Well, the truth is it’s the chateaux who need the system more than anyone else this year. They need sales and cash flow to keep the wheels turning. The days of negociants bankrolling campaigns are finally over. If wines don’t entice consumers, merchants won’t buy, and if merchants don’t buy, negociants won’t buy, and the chateaux won’t get paid. This new equation should make chateaux reflect on their prices. This is a vintage where we need to get back to basics. En primeur should be the best possible price for consumers.

“Rain, rain and yet more rain: this is how the 2024 vintage will be remembered. Difficult climatic conditions where the hardiness of our Cabernets and the quality of our terroirs made their mark” – Cheval Blanc

“Accomplished and serene” – Vieux Chateau Certan

“Every day was a test, requiring constant vigilance and making each technical decision a crucial one – guided by intuition and foresight” – Leoville Las Cases

“Each vintage is different, but I’ve never experienced one that required so much stamina. 2024 had to be earned” – Beausejour

“Marked by the oceanic influence, the 2024 vintage is shaped by the challenges of the climate, polished by commitment, responsiveness, and expertise.” – Montrose

“2024 is a year of conviction. A season of rare intensity, in which the teams surpassed themselves in their commitment – and a superb wine for having triumphed over doubt.” – Canon

“In so many ways, 2024 is a magical vintage. Though it sometimes put a strain on the vignerons’ nerves, the wine delights with its charm. Its aromatic profile, intense fruit character, the smoothness of its tannins, its invigorating freshness and its very measured alcoholic degree combine to make it a vintage built for enjoyment.” – La Conseillante

“This was the year when… You had to have a bit of bottle. Handle the challenge over the long haul, with patience and composure.” – Les Carmes Haut Brion

“The 2024 vintage once again demonstrates the vineyard team’s adaptability in responding to challenging and unpredictable climatic conditions.” – Grand Puy Lacoste

“2024 proved to be a challenging year that put our technical teams through their paces all year round. However, thanks to their resilience and perseverance, this vintage is a testament to their great experience… This vintage is perfectly in tune with the times, echoing the well-balanced excellence of Bordeaux’s greats and yielding harmonious, precise, refined wines that will gradually reveal their full complexity.” – Lynch Bages

“The Chateau Margaux 2024 Grand Vin illustrates once again the extraordinary capacity of our terroir to express, even in the most challenging years, the exceptional grandeur and timeless elegance.” – Margaux