Wednesday Wines – Episode 243 – A Tour Around Bordeaux
Two recent but very different tastings featured some very interesting wines from Bordeaux.
The Annual Les Cru Bourgeois du Médoc
2022 Vintage
Here are my three favourite wines and all are worthy of consideration not least because they represent terrific value for money. I have searched internationally for stockists, as one is, by all accounts, not available in the UK and the other seems not to have any stockists worldwide, which I find hard to believe.
2022 Château Pierre de Montignac, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, Médoc (approx. 23USD, www.totalwine.com).
This was one of the least expensive wines in the line-up, and the overall feel is that it is a much more competent and serious creation. The fruit is modern, dark, juicy, and complex, and the oak is sooty and perfectly balanced. It works exceptionally well with this exuberant style of wine. The finish is clean, crisp and finely detailed, with tannin and acidity in harmony. It is a very impressive wine. 17.5/20
2022 Château Lalaudey, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, Moulis-en-Médoc (no stockists found).
This is a more formally structured wine with a nice attack of Cabernet Sauvignon (72%) balanced by Merlot (28%), bringing some silkiness to the mid-palate. Linear, classical and firm on the finish, this is an upright, less exotic style than Pierre de Montignac, and I can see both styles of wines working well in tandem, with Lalaudey reflecting a more traditional medium-weight offering and PdM a more international stance. Lalaudey needs three or four years to mellow, and it will surely impress all-comers! 17.5+/20
2022 Château Paveil de Luze, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, Margaux (£90IB, for 6 bottles, www.cambridgewine.com; £180IB, for 12 bottles, www.farrvintners.com).
Very Margaux and very Paveil de Luze, too, this wine nails its flavour and its reputation and, in doing so, reveals silky, red-fruited, even and mellow notes that lack the urgency of the other two wines, seeming more relaxed, honed and succulent. It is more forward, too, because the tannins are pliable and well-integrated already. In terms of value for money, this is a seriously impressive price for a classical Margaux-imbued wine. 17.5/20
Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés 2020 – 2023
Here are the highlights from the annual tasting. I have picked out notable wines from each vertical flight. I have written up virtually every wine shown at this tasting before, and you can look up my comprehensive notes in my various En Primeur Reports and other musings on this website. The wines I have picked out below shone exceptionally brightly on the day! Each Château showed their pick from the four admissible vintages, including second wines, white and sweeties. Every wine in bold below scored 18/20 or above in my notes!
Château Smith Haut Laffite, Pessac Léognan
2021 Château Smith Haut Laffite Blanc looked absolutely stunning with layers and layers of class, and I was surprised with how forward it seemed. It could reasonably be drunk today and impress all-comers. 2020 Le Petit Haut Laffite Rouge seemed superbly expressive and classy. Nearly drinking, this is the perfect wine to select when you want a classy flavour for an affordable price tag. The red berry theme is sensational. While the 2022 vintage of the Grand Vin showed dramatic fruit notes and stunning purity, the wine of the line-up was not a surprise – 2020 Château Smith Haut Laffite Rouge was impeccable, with the perfect combination of fantastic power and incredible poise.
Château Gazin, Pomerol
2023 Gazin was a favourite of mine in my 2023 Bordeaux Report, and it, again, looked incredible. The 2020 and 2022 vintages of the Grand Vin also looked smart, but the halo that the 2023 casts was so resonant and impressive that it stole the show!
Château Canon La Gaffelière, Saint-Émilion
The Canon La Gaffelière family of wines was on show, and the most extensive collection of wines in the room had a suitably broad range of highlights. 2023 Château d’Aiguilhe is a standout for this estate, and you can read my full notes in this year’s Bordeaux Report (members only). 2023 Clos de l’Oratoire looked luxurious, silky-smooth and immensely impressive, and it pipped the other vintages to the post. Both 2022 and 2023 Château Canon La Gaffelière looked sensational, with the 2022 showing subtlety, composure and calm and the 2023 parading dark, velvety fruit and stunning length. 2023 La Mondotte was another terrific wine with more structure than expected, and the 2020 La Mondotte showed power, oak, and amazing tannins. I love how these estates all have their firm identities and respond to the vintage conditions differently, making this an amazingly honest and terroir-specific portfolio.
Château Canon, Saint-Émilion
2018 Croix Canon was just about drinking, and it is another lesser-priced wine with sufficient breeding to warrant a purchase. 2023 Canon, 2022 Canon and 2020 Canon were all phenomenal, and if I had to choose just one, it would be the 2022 vintage. Still, I would rather have all three because this trio ought to be welded together in perpetuity and always tasted and drunk alongside each other such is their brilliance. There are a good few contenders for most consistently excellent Château in Bordeaux these days, not least because the vintages have been crackers, and Canon is undoubtedly in the very highest echelon. It’s worth mentioning that the 2021s were a little quiet on every table, but Canon’s example was undoubtedly very impressive, too.
Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux
2019 Ségla is another stunning second wine, and it has enough grunt to drink well now and will continue to improve for a further five years with ease. I have nailed my colours to the mast concerning 2023 and 2022 Rauzan-Ségla. These are both incredible creations, and while the 2020 vintage looked massive and tense, the fruit tenderness and intensity in the two younger wines were captivating. It further underlines that these two vintages are from the top drawer and deserve a second look!
Château Branaire-Ducru, Saint-Julien
Once again, the 2023 Château Branaire, 2022 Château Branaire and 2020 Château Branaire vintages put their hands up immediately, and looking back at my En Primeur notes, they are all performing precisely as expected. I cannot choose between them as they all have such distinct characters and all show superb refinement, even the 2020, which, for other Châteaux, looks to have regressed, but here it looks resplendent. I always say this, but Branaire-Ducru always represents staggeringly good value for money and this trio of vintages is no exception.
Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint-Julien
Poyferré also showed a wide range of labels, and I have always liked the house style across all prices and estates. 2023 Château Le Crock is such a lovely wine, and it probably leads the 2022 and 2020 right now in terms of discernible fruit quality and expression (albeit a few years off drinking!), but the others will probably overtake it given time. If you are looking for an everyday claret that hits the high notes, has its own identity and maintains a brilliant value ratio, this is it. 2023 Château Moulin Riche is another beautiful 2023, and it is easily the pick of the vintages (they showed 2022, 2021 and 2020). 2023 Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré also won the battle against the three other vintages, and 2023 Château Léoville Poyferré was far more flattering than the 2022 Château Léoville Poyferré and the 2020 Château Léoville Poyferré, but these two had more gas in the tank and will most likely win the race in a couple of decades. The award for the best 2021 of the day went to 2021 Château Léoville Poyferré, with its beautiful fruit quality and silkiness.
Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
2023 Château Pontet-Canet was, as expected, the model of luxuriousness, and 2022 Château Pontet-Canet looked every bit as ravishing and 2020 Château Pontet-Canet, despite its tension and tannic fanfare, looked epic. A couple of Châteaux had 19/20 and higher scores for this trio of vintages, and I expect newcomers to fine wines, let alone experts, would have spotted the impact and integrity of this trio from a mile away. They look so exciting and energetic it takes one’s breath away.
Château Montrose, Saint-Estèphe
2022 La Dame de Montrose is a revelation with its spicy attack and pristine fruit, and it and the 2020 La Dame de Montrose were the only second wines to show signs of true longevity. Price dependent, these could be a very sneaky purchase! 2022 Château Montrose was exquisite in every way, and I gave it a 19.5+/20 En Primeur, and I see no reason to change this staggering score. 2020 Château Montrose looked very backward and firm, but the potential is there!
Château Guiraud, Sauternes
2023 Château Guiraud and 2022 Château Guiraud both looked beautiful, with the ’23 exhibiting more flesh and the 2022 looking tangier and teasing.
Overall, this event was fabulous, with the 2023s clearly underlining my intense interest in this vintage. I trust you will all download my 2023 Report for a second look because this is such an underrated vintage. 2022 is a great vintage, and the wines have a brilliant balance between flesh and muscle. Most 2021s looked a little drab, and the best 2020s looked power-packed, tannic, and grumpy, but in some cases, were genuinely awesome!