Hey Nineteen

Unlike the Donald Fagen song, I found myself on very much the same wavelength as these 19s. This was the best Southwold tasting I’ve been involved with, even trumping the outstanding 2009s and 2016s.

If we cast our minds back to a time before Covid, lockdowns and zoom tastings, Bordeaux enjoyed a perfect growing season with ample sunshine, hot days and rains that always arrived in the nick of time. Few vintages could have been so easy. Even the harvest was a breeze. As Omri Ram from Lafleur explained later, they thought they had a big, “solaire” vintage on their hands, but as vinifications evolved they realised 2019 was something special. These wines have a real core and middle, a sense of line and precision, energy and latent power. There’s charm in abundance but look below the surface and you’ll find something very serious, even profound.

Vingt-et-un… the luck of the draw

After two years tasting in gardens and via zoom, our recent primeurs trip marked a welcome return to Bordeaux. In truth, we had no expectations about this vintage. Unusually, chateaux have been playing their cards close to their chests, so we approached with no preconceptions.

A few points on the tastings themselves. The UGC calendar was delayed by about three weeks. This move has been welcomed. The extra time in barrel (even a couple of weeks) makes the wines much easier to assess. Our whole UK Private Client Team, as well as five Buyers, spent four days tasting barrel samples. Some might consider this overkill; however, for an advice-based business like Justerinis, we feel that this is essential. We believe salespeople need first-hand tasting experience in order to inform and advise. This is particularly valuable in vintages like 2021. 

2021 threw just about everything at winemakers: frost, mildew, lack of sunshine and the threat of rain at harvest; yet those who manged the conditions and held their nerve have been rewarded with something quite ravishing and unique. It would be easy to write off a vintage like 2021 based on meteorological data, but that would be a disservice. While it requires some attention, there are undoubtedly many wines collectors will want in their cellars.

All in the name of progress – Calon Segur vertical

A providentially timed email resulted in an invitation we couldn’t refuse – a vertical tasting with Vincent Millet, followed by lunch in the recently refurbished chateau. This proved to be a fascinating opportunity to gauge the progress of Calon Segur over the last decade and enjoy some memorable bottles.

We started with 2008, when the vineyard was planted with 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot at a density as low as 5,000 vines per hectare, below the AOC limit. Today, after a massive re-planting program, the vineyards are planted at a density of 10,000 feet per hectare, and Cabernet plays are more dominant role (59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 30% Merlot). This has been a long and labourious process and it isn’t finished yet. Vincent explained that there are still 11 hectares to grub up; the last parcel won’t be completed until 2035. We finished with our first glimpse at their outstanding 2019. The intervening years demonstrate the chateau’s relentless pursuit of quality and continuing refinement.

18 again 

This year, the venerable tasters of Southwold-upon-Thames convened to re-sample the ever so slightly controversial 2018s. By my recollection, there was a small transatlantic split of opinion as to the success of the vintage: American critics loved the ripeness and opulence, declaring it an immediate hit; the British press was more circumspect. A vintage of two halves: initially humid, with huge mildew pressure, particularly for the advocates of biodynamic farming, then dry and hot with an unhurried harvest yielding small, concentrated berries. The merits are far easier to evaluate in bottle, and it seems on reflection that neither assessment was entirely accurate. It’s not another vintage of the century, as some might have suggested. 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2019 are clearly a notch above. However, amongst the top crus, it’s a very strong range, probably on a par with 2015 – or maybe marginally better. One feels the “solaire” character with the richness and concentration, yet the wines retain a classical charm and elegance. They are unmistakably Bordeaux. 

Wednesday saw the welcome return of the UGC (Union des Grands Crus) to London. As ever, Lindley Hall provided the well-ventilated venue to showcase the spectacular 2019s.

Released during the pessimistic outlook of lockdown and economic abyss, Bordeaux provided a rare ray of sunshine in a gloomy climate. Most of the UK trade lobbied to postpone the annual en primeur campaign. We were one of the few dissenting voices. Ultimately, the Bordelais decided to revise the commonly held premise that, “You can’t send barrel samples,” and, rather than tasting in the architectural cathedrals of Aquitaine, we gathered around my garden table. From our first encounters, we knew that 2019 was remarkable. Quality and consistency across the board, even from Chateaux we’d normally circumvent.