The narrative about Bordeaux en primeur often begins long before we’ve tasted the wines. Every slight change in weather is seized on as an indicator of success, or failure, with disaster stories dominating opinion. It can often be quite hard to separate what you’ve read from the reality of the vintage. If 16 years tasting primeur wines has taught me anything, it’s that great wines are made under even the most challenging conditions.  

We approached our tasting of the 2021 vintage with a mixture of excitement, curiosity and just a touch of the UK wine trade’s typical cynicism. Most UK merchants I bumped into on the trip were simply happy to be back tasting fresh barrel samples in Bordeaux again. It was good to catch up with friends and to see the huge changes at chateaux. There have been some very swanky new cellars built over the past couple of years!

Last month Justerinis co-hosted a Champagne masterclass with Charles Philipponnat of the eponymous champagne house. 

The afternoon consisted of a superb lunch by Claude Bosi at Bibendum with perfectly paired bottles from the cellars of Philipponnat. We tried four new wines from Phillipponnat including the 2008 "1522", the 2008 Mareuil-Sur-Ay, the 2007 Clos des Goisses "Juste Rose" and the 2008 Les Cintres. All brilliant, complex and satisfying wines.

The 1522 is surprisingly fleshy and accessible but there's a taut minerality that comes through on the finish that reminds you of the vintage's tension.  It was the first time I tried the Mareuil-Sur-Ay but it took the 1522s style and ramped it up with greater tension and nervosity. I'll be buying some of this for myself.