January at JamesSuckling.com was a parade of tradition with a taste of South America and China thrown in, starting at ground central for great wine, Bordeaux. We rated 691 bottles from the region, mostly from the 2020 vintage but with a dollop of 2019s and 2021s, and James and the other tasters are starting to get a feel for how 2020 as a whole will be judged.
It was a hot year with almost 50 days of no rain, or only a few drops, but wineries with superlative soils in their vineyards made some great wines owing to the fact that terroirs high in clay or limestone were able to retain the moisture that came during the first half of the year.
The Right Bank is showing plenty of potential in the 2020 vintage, with the best offerings combining finesse, structure and gravity with some well-judged opulence to boot. Many of these wines come from Pomerol and St. Emilion, like the Château Destieux St.-Emilion 2020, which shows impressive class, depth and silky concentration, as well as La Clémence Pomerol 2020, which carries plenty of structure and fine-grained tannins on its way to a lingering, layered finish.
Another from Pomerol, the Château Petit Village Pomerol 2020, has a purity of fruit and refined tannin structure that gives it a certain sophistication and energy, while the Château Feytit-Clinet Pomerol 2020 is an opulent expression with layers, filigree, plushness and velvety tannins. The Muse du Val St.-Emilion 2020, meanwhile, is a modern St-Emilion that delivers ornate plushness, ripeness and conviviality with its melted, lush tannins and creamy finish, yet it remains refined, with poise and depth. We will go to Bordeaux in late March to taste more of the top names, such as first growths and Right Bank jewels like Cheval Blanc, Lafleur, Le Pin and Petrus.
We also had our first encounters with the 2021 vintage from both Burgundy and Beaujolais, starting with Senior Editor Stuart Pigott’s attendance at a special gathering in London hosted by Burgundy specialists Haynes, Hanson & Clark, where he tasted 40 wines from a range of appellations. Stuart concurred with co-host Anthony Hanson, who described 2021 as a “classic-style vintage like the good years of the 1980s and 1990s, without the opulence of the previous three vintages.”
Stuart found some jewels amid the 2021 offerings, like the Domaine Henri Magnien Corton Grand Cru Les Grandes Lolieres 2021, which he praised for its intense stony minerality. Most of our Burgundy tastings will be held in late June, when all of the 2021 vintage is in bottle.
Stuart began his annual deep dive into the wines of Beaujolais at his home in Germany, with almost 500 boxes of bottles ready to be swirled, sniffed, sipped and rated. Although it took him a couple days to discover the first real gem of the 2021 vintage, Stuart said the Domaine de Vernus Moulin-à-Vent Les Vérillats 2021 was “the best Beaujolais we have tasted so far this year” – one that combines Burgundian richness with Beaujolais freshness and has a stunningly silky, long finish.
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Stuart added that every 2021 Beaujolais crus he tasted from Domaine Gilles Copéret rated above 90, and that he also said he found a couple of amazing basic Beaujolais from Morel (Domaine des Prévelières), one of which gained the highest rating for a white Beaujolais from the chardonnay grape. Stuart will top off his marathon of Beaujolais tastings with a visit to the region to taste with about a dozen top producers, so stay tuned for more.
And our tastings of French wines wouldn’t be complete without at least a few Champagnes, and we did find some standouts among the latest vintages from Moet & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. Of particular note was the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Extra Brut Extra Old N2 NV, which is made from wines ranging from 2012 all the way back to 1990. It was showing a deliciously toasty and nutty complexity, with soft bubbles and a creamy, layered palate.
A few wines from Italy also popped up in our January tastings, including two from Veneto winery Bussola – the Bussola Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore Ca’ del Laito 2018, which is like a mix between Amarone and regular Valpolicella, and the gorgeous Bussola Vino Rosso d’Italia L’Errante 2014, a Bordeaux blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. And the village of Monforte d’Alba in Piemonte gave us two fantastic Barolos – the Monti Barolo Bussia Riserva 2016 and Monti Barolo Bricco San Pietro 2016, which both show how modern Barolos meld precision, intensity and vibrancy with a refined twist of savoriness and firmness.
James revisited his love of vintage Port wine in January when he held a tasting session with Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk in our Hong Kong office. They tasted a number of 2018 and 2019 vintage Ports but also some 2003s that James found in his wine cellar.
Although James thought 2019 was “slightly better” than 2018, with more depth of fruit and structure, it was a couple of the 2003s – the Fonseca 2003 and Taylor’s 2003 – that stirred his memories the most. “They were still very much how I remembered tasting them when they were first released in 2006. Yet the tannins had resolved and the sweetness integrated. It was the same today as before,” James said of them.
Stuart also caught up on some late-released wines from German producers during his January tastings, with two not-quite GG rieslings from August Kesseler in Assmannshausen in the Rheingau that stunned – the August Kesseler Riesling Rheingau Berg Schlossberg Alte Reben 2021 and August Kesseler Riesling Rheingau Berg Roseneck Alte Reben 2021, while Wurttemberg produced a couple powerful pinot noirs in the “super-elegant and super-silky” Dautel Pinot Noir Württemberg Forstberg GG 2019 and the richer, more powerful Dautel Pinot Noir Württemberg Schupen GG 2019.
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In Hong Kong, Senior Editor Zekun Shuai started tapping into South American wines before heading to the continent for a multi-country tasting trip. A few Argentine wines impressed Zekun, led by the Zorzal Malbec Tupungato Valle de Uco El Barba 2019 – a seductive malbec with excellent drinkability, depth of flavors and broad complexity – while Solocontigo Wines of Mendoza also delivered some exciting garnacha and monastrell offerings, particularly with the 2020 vintage of their Neelands Rows Selection series.
And from Chile, the Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo Silencio 2018 is “a classy expression of the vintage,” with the gravity and finesse you would expect from a top Chilean cabernet, while the meaty Casas del Bosque Valle de Casablanca La Trampa Private Reserve 2020 shows the potential of the Casablanca appellation for a great syrah-based blend.
China also gave us some great wines in January, all coming with serious structure and depth that still check the boxes for balance and freshness. One, the Helan Qingxue Vineyard Ningxia Jiabeilan Grand Reserve 贺兰晴雪加贝兰特别珍藏 2019, is a special barrel selection from the already very impressive Helan Qingxue Vineyard Ningxia Jiabeilan Reserve 贺兰晴雪酒庄加贝兰珍藏版 2019 that shows more Bordeaux-like finesse than most of its cabernet peers.
Winemaker Zhao Desheng, who works for both Domaine Franco-Chinois and Canaan winery, made the Domaine Franco Chinois Huailai Reserve 中法庄园珍藏 2017, Chapter and Verse Syrah Huailai Reserve 诗百篇珍藏西拉 2017 and Chapter and Verse Merlot Huailai Reserve 诗百篇珍藏美乐 2017, which all stood out for their exceptional aging potential and character, underscored by their firm yet fine tannins and length.
Two distinctive syrahs from Ningxia’s 2019 vintage also popped up on our radar. The outstanding Chateau Hedong Syrah Ningxia 贺东庄园西拉干红葡萄酒 2019 has lots of exotic herbs and smoked meat character with sweet, concentrated fruit and silky tannins on the palate, while Li’s Syrah Ningxia Family Reserve 利思酒庄家族典藏西拉干红葡萄酒 2019 is a little more opulent and polished. Compared with Hedong’s syrah, which is almost $200 a bottle, the Li’s syrah, which retails for around $55, looks like a great value.
All told for January, we rated 2,329 wines from a huge smorgasbord of countries – 22, to be exact – so be sure to check out the notes below for some offbeat offerings from lesser-known wine countries like Lebanon, Bulgaria, Thailand, Serbia and Denmark, among others.
– Vince Morkri, Managing Editor
