2021 was a challenging vintage in Beaujolais, but the JamesSuckling.com tasting team managed to find a few gems – one of them combining Burgundian richness and Beaujolais freshness with a stunningly silky, long finish that seals the deal.

Our tastings of more than 500 wines during the past week were heavy on Bordeaux 2020 and Burgundy, but it was a couple of stunning German rieslings that rose to the top.

In our latest Weekly Tasting Report, James rekindles his love for vintage Port wines and expounds on what it takes to make a great one, while Senior Editor Stuart Pigott get his first taste of Burgundy's 2021 vintage.

After rating more than 1,400 Bordeaux 2020 wines, from simple blends to some of the best collectibles, the vintage's quality character is becoming clear.

The Bordeaux reds that we tasted over the last week in this report are pointing toward a great year for Pauillac and St. Julien, and we haven’t even reviewed such names as Mouton, Latour or Lafite.

We made it through a few hundred Bordeaux 2020 wines over the past week, with James feeling like it's getting close to the superb 2019 vintage in quality.

The Chateau Valandraud at the top of our list this week highlights the excellence of Bordeaux’s newest vintage on the market, 2020, particularly from the Right Bank, such as St. Emilion and Pomerol. But you’ll also notice a few dozen ratings of various vintages of top wines from Burgundy’s Chassagne-Montrachet.

We tapped into some sterling Bordeaux wines during our tastings over the past week and also uncorked some stunning Philipponnat Champagnes. And our road trip into Serbia resulted in a few choice discoveries.

Spain’s cult red, the Dominio de Pingus, delivers a benchmark for the country year in and year out, and wine lovers and collectors around the world clamor to get their hands on a bottle. But how does 2020 compare with 2019?