The arrival of Bordeaux En Primeur is a rare moment in the fine wine calendar. This year to make the process an intimate and unique experience, we have as your guide, Alistair Cooper, a Jancis Robinson wine critic and Master of Wine, who has been invited to taste the 2020 Bordeaux releases from barrel. There is no better resource to getting an exclusive perspective, first-heard insights and what you can expect from this new vintage.
Please find an initial word from Alistair Cooper below and be sure to subscribe for exclusive access to editorial pieces throughout the En-Primeur Campaign.
About the 2020 Vintage
The 2020 vintage in Bordeaux is looking very promising with high (if variable) quality overall. Conditions were not unlike 2018 and 2019, with a relatively mild and wet springtime followed by a long hot and dry summer. One of the caveats is that yields are down by around 10 per cent as a result of mildew, drought and then further heatwaves at harvest time. Without going into depth, quality will vary due to soils across sites and those better equipped to deal with water deficit may produce the finest wines.
Without tasting the 2020 wines it is hard to say definitively, but the inside scoop is that this really could be an excellent year. Potentially we are looking at a ‘better’ vintage than 2019, and almost certainly finer than 2018. It’s just quantities that could be down, meaning getting your hands on these wines as early as possible is the safest bet to secure some potentially cracking wines.
Pricing
What will happen with pricing remains to be seen, however I am optimistic that prices will be similar to 2019 releases and that is good news for consumers. 2019 saw a significant cut in prices on the 2018’s and the wines sold well. Here’s hoping that this year follows suit. With a vintage such as this, with quality likely to be somewhat heterogeneous it is all the more important to listen to critics and understand where the value and quality really lie.
Given the global COVID situation, gone is the usual fanfare and the annual pilgrimage of critics, merchants and the red trouser brigade to Bordeaux. Instead of welcoming the tasters, the Chatêaux must instead send their samples sparingly to critics. Whilst this isn’t ideal for producers, it is the only way to get those all important scores and vintage appraisal from critics. This means that far fewer people will get to taste and assess the vintage prior to release, with samples being sent sparingly for obvious logistical reasons. This is all a particularly useful benefit to United Cellars and our customers, as I will be one of the few critics tasting the wines.
Tasting & Scoring
As part of the JancisRobinson.com tasting team, I will be heavily involved this year in tasting and scoring the 2020 vintage. We have split the tasting across three members of the team, including Jancis herself, and I will be tasting around 200 wines. That means a pallet of wine will be arriving at my house in the UK to be tasted in my living room – something that is becoming a somewhat regular occurrence!
Looking at some of the wines that I will be tasting, I expect to uncover some absolute gems and wines that offer supreme value for money. We will keep you posted with updates on my tastings, scores and of course my tips for the 2020 vintage. So keep watching for the inside information straight from the horse’s (well, my…) mouth.
- Alistair Cooper,
Master of Wine & Esteemed Critic
Cotes de Castillon is another one of those Right Bank appellations (along with Fronsac) that does well in very hot vintages such as 2020. This is largely due to its limestone soils as well as the huge amount of biodynamic estates in the area. Unsurprisingly for me the standout performer was Clos Puy Arnaud in this year’s Castillon offerings.
The largest of the communal appellations in The Médoc, Margaux is also the only one to boast 1855 classified estates at all rankings from first to fifth. Generalisations abound with regards style and regional typicity in Bordeaux, but there is certainly some truth to these stereotypes. Margaux is often touted as the most feminine, aromatic and perfumed of the top appellations on the Left Bank. There is certainly truth in this statement and the wines can be extremely seductive, thrilling and subtle. In a word, think ‘finesse.’
The Left Bank of Bordeaux is littered with famous names, both villages as well as estates. However, it’s widely accepted that the most famous village and home to three of the five lauded First Growths (Lafite, Latour and Mouton-Rothschild) is Pauillac. Here Cabernet is king and is famed for producing powerful, concentrated and intensely cassis laden wines with cigar box, pencil shavings and graphite characteristics. These are the most long-lived of the wines of Bordeaux and are blessed with a strong and fine tannic backbone to aid in this respect. For me the most beguiling quality of Pauillac is the development that happens in bottle, with such aromatic complexity coming with age.
Today our Bordeaux En Primeur Team will be introducing you to one of the hidden gems of one of the smallest but mightiest Appellations in Bordeaux; Chateau Taillefer from Pomerol.
This is a winery dedicated to progression, and with a keen eye on the future and climate change. They have committed to doubling their Malbec plantings and increasing their Cabernet Franc to 12% in the next five years. Alongside this they have employed the services of renowned consultant Eric Boissenot from the 2020 vintage. Boissenot is famed for his work at Lafite, Mouton-Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Leoville Las Cases and many others. A pretty impressive haul of names!
I have a plethora of St Emilion samples to wade through in the coming fortnight, and having already sampled a few I am really confident that even in this heterogeneous vintage, there will be some sublime wines to be found.
This is Alistair here and, as you already know, the 2020 Bordeaux En Primeur season has well and truly begun. Excitement is building, and we’ll soon see the first En Primeur releases in the coming days.
